Envy
by Hella Jelena
Summary: "Where's the doctor?" Tamulok asked coarsely. "Dead," Kirk said automatically. Now, the good news was they had found Tamulok. The bad news was - well, obvious.
1. Chapter 1

Star Trek doesn' t belong to me.

"Envy" is part 3 of my idea of the end of Kirk's first five year mission, it is a sequel to "Pride" and "Sloth" and a prequel to "Gluttony". As a mindful observer you have realized by now that these are four of the seven deadly sins, therefore you can anticipate 7 parts in total. :-)

o0o

Envy - An emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another's (perceived) superior qualitys, achievements, possessions, or aspirations and either desires it or wishes that the other person lacked it." (Parrott, W. G., & Smith, R. H. (1993). "Distinguishing the experiences of envy and jealousy." In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 906-920.)

Minor reference to "The Tholian Web"

**Envy**

**Captain's Log, stardate 6021,7:** The Enterprise is on her way to Starbase 3 with the Vulcan ship P'Jem in tow. We have sustained damage in a fight with five Romulan warbirds, during which many crewmembers were injured, including Ensign Chekov, who has still not regained consiousness. Also, the doctors M'Benga and McCoy have been injured previously and so were unable to perform their duties. For that reason I have requested Captain Saluk of the P'Jem to send over a doctor of his crew to help out our medical staff.

Dr. T'Plok has proved to be an asset, and has worked with Dr. McCoy who has resumed his duty this morning quite well. However, we hope that Dr. T'Plok will be able return to her ship when we have reached the starbase, where we will have to undergo repairs on our warp drive. Also, we're hoping to pick up our helsman Mr. Sulu and head nurse Chapel, who were on shore leave, on the starbase.

Our passenger, the Romulan commander Tamulok, has been strangely communicative, socialising with the crew. I have cautioned my officers not to talk to him too freely about the ship, Federation technology or politics. I do not trust Tamulok. My first officer Spock agrees, although he has spent much time with the commander, discussing Vulcan and Romulan history and myths. Spock is still convinced that we have found Vor-Ka-Ri, a legendary place in both Romulan and Vulcan mythology, in the neutral zone. He and Commander Tamulok hope to work out a strategy for proposing a treaty to the Romulan Empire that will allow both, the Federation and the Romulans, to investigate that planet in the neutral zone. I personally think that this will be extremely difficult and dangerous, since we have found out that the Romulans are in the middle of a civil war and we do not know which side is in power right now. What we also don't know is, on which side Tamulok is, the five warbirds that we destroyed with the help of Commander Tamulok were rebel forces, however, their commander, Valdran, seemed to think that Tamulok was on her side.

I am looking forward to handing over Tamulok to the Vulcan delegation that will meet us on the starbase, as well as some well deserved shore leave.

Kirk stopped recording the log, and took a mouthful of cold coffee. He grimaced. Looking around his quarters, he felt a sense of restlessness. He didn't like having to crawl to the next starbase on impulse speed, although they were back in safe Federation territory. And they were better off than the P'Jem which was unable to move by herself.

That explosion had been massive. It had destroyed six ships, the warbirds and Tamulok's ship. Kirk still couldn't understand why Tamulok had sacrificed his own ship in order to save the two Federation vessels. Well, he wouldn't complain. However, he was concerned about that new weapon which had caused this explosion: a generator that modified the shield's frequency until it destroyed all ships with shields in the vicinity. Was it a new weapon developed by the Romulans? Or was it something that Tamulok had found on the planet that Spock suspected to be Vor-Ka-Ri?

"Sickbay to Captain Kirk!" It was the voice of Dr. T'Plok. She was another surprise: definitely Vulcan, but then again, strangely interested in human behaviour, and what was even more strange: she tried to emulate it.

"Kirk, here."

"Captain, you wanted an update on Ensign Chekov's and Dr. M'Benga's condition."

"Yes?" Kirk asked hopefully.

"There's been no change," she reported.

_There's been no change for a disconcertingly long time_, Kirk thought.

"I'll be right there, Doctor," he said and grabbed his uniform.

"Captain, you will not alter the situation by your presence in sickbay, there is no ..." T'Plok's voice came over the intercom.

"I know, doctor," Kirk cut her off and left his quarters.

o0o

"Now, why did you do that?" McCoy asked the Vulcan doctor vexedly.

"The captain ordered to be informed on the condition of the patients," T'Plok turned to look at McCoy, who had cornered her at the intercom, his arms folded in front of his chest.

"If there was a _change_. But what good does it do to tell him that _nothing_ has happened?" he stepped forward, trying to intimidate her, as he realized in some corner of his brain, and he also realized that he didn't succeed, because T'Plok either just wasn't able to feel intimidated (it was an emotion, wasn't it?), or because she wasn't able to read human body language well enough.

"He said: "Keep me posted." And this is what I did, doctor," she said, raising an eyebrow questioningly at her colleague.

McCoy took a step backwards again.

"Well, you are not familiar with human behaviour, or with our captain, T'Plok, or you would know, that by giving him your report, you just succeeded in increasing his concerns and making him come down to sickbay, although he should be _resting_."

"I see. Doctor McCoy, I apologise for my mistake. It is increasingly difficult for me to understand human psychology. I've studied it, as I've mentioned to you before, however, I find the theory to be quite different from the practical experience. I am grateful for your insight on that matter."

"What? Forgive me, doctor, but I was expecting you to put off human behaviour as illogical."

"Humans aren't as logical as Vulcans. That is their nature. If I am to be a physician for humans, then I need to know all about their behaviour and psychology. And I also find it quite fascinating."

"You surprise me. I know a Vulcan who has an absolute aversion to any kind of emotions. I always assumed all Vulcans feel that way."

"You are not completely false in your assumption, Doctor. However, as I consider myself primarily a psychologist, I believe that by studying human behaviour I can learn a lot about the Vulcan psyche as well."

Bones looked up at that. She was a psychologist? He wondered if she was the one who had been assigned to mind meld with him. He took another step backwards, suddenly feeling intimidated himself.

"Really? Vulcans aren't like humans. We are more guided by our emotions."

"Yes, however, we Vulcans have the same emotions that you have. Only, they are stronger than human emotions. That is why we found it necessary to control and surpress them. Unfortunately to a degree, we therefore have lost our ability to understand our emotions. For me, as a psychologist, it is of great importance to understand these emotions, in order to help my patients."

McCoy had put an empty bio-bed between himself and Doctor T'Plok. _A Vulcan psychologist, strange, that_, he thought.

"Are you trained in mental techniques?" he asked her. Thinking about the mental evaluation, that Starfleet Command had tried to enforce on him, after that mind rape. A Vulcan psychologist would have melded with him if Jim hadn't intervened.

"Yes. But you need not fear me, Doctor. I understand what you have gone through. And I am grateful that this mental evaluation has been put off. Believe me, it is not something I ... enjoy doing, for I know it will probably cause pain. As a matter of fact, I also think this is quite a needless procedure, since you seem ... normal."

McCoy felt increasingly uneasy, he just wanted to forget that incident on Meriah, and he didn't like talking about it, not with his friends, and definitely not with a stranger, least of all a Vulcan psychologist who was able to invade his mind the same way that Meriahn had. And although what she had said was meant to reassure him, he began to feel threatened. Pushing away that emotion, knowing he was being a little paranoid, he mumbled: "Thank you."

Thankfully, Kirk entered at that very moment, searching sickbay for Doctor T'Plok who had called him to inform him about the condition of two of his officers. He found her and McCoy who was staring her down, while gripping hard at the edge of a bio-bed that was between them. _Oh-oh, I knew there was going to be trouble_, he thought.

"Doctors? What can you tell me about M'Benga and Chekov?" Kirk approached them and suddenly realized that rather than anger, it was _fear_ that eminated from McCoy. He stepped beside him and put a hand on his back, lightly, but reassuring, and hopefully not too obvious for T'Plok.

Although Kirk kind of liked her, he had anticipated some problems. _Minor disturbences that are inevitable when humans become involved with Vulcans. _But, if he was correct, these weren't minor disturbences. Had the Vulcan threatened McCoy? Kirk remembered with unease that T'Plok was the very doctor whom Starfleet Command had ordered to evaluate the mental state of McCoy by melding with him.

"As I said, Captain, there has been no change," T'Plok repeated and tried to sound reassuring, but succeeded only in sounding as if she was talking to child.

"Doctor T'Plok, I came _all the way_ down here to get a _full report_ on the conditon of my officers and _not_ to hear you repeat what I already know!" he almost shouted at her, staring her down angrily. He knew he was a little bit overprotective these days, when it concerned his CMO, however, he also knew that McCoy was not easily intimidated. To get him to grip the edge of a bio-bed in order not to tremble with fear took quite a lot.

"Jim! If there's been no change, we can't tell you anything that you don't already know! M'Benga's condition is still serious. He's in a coma, and although he should wake up eventually, he will require quite some rehab after that. We believe it is best to transfer him to the starbase's sickbay, where he can receive more adequate care," McCoy said, realizing why Kirk acted the way he did, and feeling guilty. T'Plok hadn't done anything wrong, on the contrary, she had tried to be supportive.

Kirk was somewhat appeased. Maybe he hadn't drawn the right conclusions, but he had to remember talking to Bones later on.

"What about Chekov?" he asked McCoy, who had walked over to the bio-beds on which Chekov and M'Benga lay.

"Well, he still hasn't regained consiousness, although he should have. At this moment, however, I'm not overly concerned. This may be a protective mechanism of his body, for it would be quite painful if he woke now. His trachea has been badly damaged, and each breath would mean quite some discomfort. However, if he doesn't wake up within the next 24 hours, we'll start to become a little concerned, we don't want him to slip into a coma also."

"I have contacted Lieutenant Sulu on Starbase 3," T'Plok piped up.

"Whatever for?" McCoy looked at her questioningly, but all the while kicking himself for not having done so himself.

The corner Kirk's mouth curved up into a half smile. _You're not jealous Bones, are you?_

"Was that wrong? I apologise. I just thought that it would be beneficial to Mr. Chekov's recovery, to have someone who is close to him come and visit at a moment like this. I have read that even in a coma or unconscious, humans can sense the presence of a close friend or family member which usually has a positive effect on their condition." T'Plok looked at McCoy with genuine interest.

"Yes, of course. That was very considerate," he replied, looking down at Chekov.

"Mr. Sulu said he'd come aboard as soon as we arrive."

"Good, and thank you, Dr. T'Plok. Anything else?" Kirk asked the Vulcan doctor. Bones felt more than a little uncomfortable around her, he observed. He doubted that this was just jealousy, and itched to confront Bones. Maybe there was something about her that he hadn't realized. To him she seemed surprisingly considerate.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I wanted to talk to Dr. McCoy about it first, but I believe you, as commanding officer, should also know."

McCoy stiffened and Kirk glanced at his friend again.

"What is it now, doctor?" he asked impatiently, and again he realized he'd addressed her in an impolite way without knowing if she'd really deserved it.

"Doctor Pulliam's sister was one of the four humans who were murdered on the P'Jem," she said.

"I knew it! She seemed familiar. I think Kate mentioned having a sister on a Vulcan ship once. I should have realized it before," McCoy said.

"Jennifer Pulliam mentioned to me once, that she was very close to her sister. I think her death affects Dr. Pulliam's work negatively. She seems distracted and unfocussed. It could prove to be dangerous for her patients."

"Of course, it does affect her," Bones exclaimed with a touch of anger directed at her, "but she has done a great job in the treatment of M'Benga, Chekov, and _myself_, so far. So you can't be suggesting to force her to take leave? This would not help her getting over her sister's death at all, you gree ... you hear?" McCoy caught himself.

Kirk gave McCoy's shoulder another pat, then addressed the Vulcan: "Dr. T'Plok, thank you for bringing that to our attention. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to talk to Dr. McCoy in private." Kirk said to her, then pushed McCoy towards his office.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jim?" McCoy asked after Kirk had closed the door. He wasn't feeling all too comfortable about this whole situation. He had acted as if he were emotionally on edge, which he wasn't, well at least had not been until a few minutes ago. Hopefully Jim wasn't going to question him about that.

"Bones?" Kirk asked in turn, and waited.

"What do you want?" he let himself fall into his chair.

Kirk sighed. Alright, if he wasn't going to talk about what was bothering him by himself, he'd make him do it.

"How do you like your new Vulcan subordinate?"

"She's erudite, skilled, dutiful, and friendly," he said without missing a beat.

"Wow. Did you rehearse that?"

McCoy smiled guiltily. "She confuses me. She doesn't behave like a Vulcan, and yet she _does_."

"You like her," Kirk assessed, taken aback.

"Yes. Why does that surprise you?" he said defensively.

Kirk closely scrutinized his friend. "Well, for one, because when I came in, you looked as if you wanted to call security and have her taken away, immediately. Did she threaten you?"

McCoy looked at his captain in alarm. Was he so easy to read? "No! How could she threaten me?"

Kirk sat down on the edge of McCoy's desk trying to look him in the eyes. "By trying to evaluate your mental state."

McCoy let out a breath. "You like getting to the point quickly, eh?"

"And you like beating about the bush."

"Yeah. You know me."

Kirk waited. Had it been anyone else he would have either given up and left, or he would have shaken him until he spilled it. However, over time he'd learned how to weasel the truth out of McCoy, but it was still a challenge.

"Well?" Bones asked innocently.

"Bones. Did she want to evaluate your mental health by performing a mind meld?"

McCoy cringed. "No. She said, this was unnecessary and I was being "normal"," he ground out.

Kirk blinked. "Why then were you holding on to the edge of that bio-bed to stop from shaking, when I came into sickbay?"

McCoy finally looked up at Kirk in exasperation. "Give me a break, Jim! I don't like being around a person who is able to analyse me, and even invade my mind to prove her theories."

"You just said you like her."

"_You_ said that."

"Do you also feel uncomfortable being around Spock?" Kirk asked, feeling concerned.

"No. Spock is Spock. I think he believes a meld with me to be as unpleasant for himself as for me."

Kirk exhaled noisily. "Well, I for one am glad when she leaves us."

"Who will be the resplacement for Jabilo? It'll take at least two or three months before he can return back to duty on the Enterprise, Jim."

"I don't know. But T'Plok is needed on her ship."

"I wouldn't mind if she stayed here. I mean, as along as she thinks I'm "normal", she thinks better of me than most of my staff."

Kirk remembered something. "Did you tell Pulliam to go back to the Academy until she has learned how to set a hypo?"

"I was right. She really couldn't set the hypo properly. Took her ages!"

"She saved your life, Bones. And set that hypo single-handedly."

"Great. So she finally sat down and practised. My reprimand worked then."

"Should I talk to her about her sister?"

"Nah, I'll do that. Need to thank her anyway. I'll tell you about it."

Kirk nodded. "Right. Oh, I know a great bar on Starbase 3. Care to join me for a drink?"

"Just one?" McCoy smiled at him.

"Great. See you then." With that the captain left McCoy's office, took one last look at Chekov, and was out of sickbay.

T'Plok was waiting, when McCoy left his office as well.

"I believe I didn't behave correctly towards the captain - and you, doctor, " she said.

"What? Why?" he looked at her, confused. If anything, _they_ hadn't treated her in a particularly polite manner. Jim had even yelled at her, only because she was being unable to give him any new information. Of course, that hadn't been the real reason, but she probably hadn't realized that.

"The captain thanked me twice. And you also did. I recall the correct reply to an expression of gratitude is "you're welcome". I did not obey the laws for a polite conversation. Vulcans do not use any of these linguistic formulas of politeness. We find them superfluous and distractive. However, I believe they are essential for conversations between humans."

"Well, they're not as important as you may think," McCoy tried to explain.

"But isn't it true, that with everything you say, you communicate more than just the information?"

She was beginning to get on his nerves with her strange questions about human behaviour. "If you're interested in that sort of thing, talk to Uhura, she'll have a field day explainig the different human languages to you," McCoy said, remembering an incident when he'd simply asked her what "hello" in Swahili meant, trying to engage only in casual conversation, and then he had to listen to a lecture about the origin of human languages for over an hour, "be assured, the captain is not offended. And neither am I."

"You and the captain know each other well?"

"Quite, yes."

She nodded as if she had just made a discovery, then went back to her work. McCoy shook his head.

_Maybe Vulcan women just are like that,_ he mused.

He didn't see the pointy-eared doctor hastily scribble notes into a strange looking greenish pad that had the form of an eagle's wing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chekov was floating. He was sure he was lying on a bench in a boat and the boat was floating on a lake. He was absolutely relaxed, warm and calm. Two people were talking to each other, his parents, probably, for they were the only other people on this boat. They must be on that picnic trip again. He was ten years old, it was a wonderful summer, lots of sunshine, school wouldn't start for another 3 weeks. He had been swimming in the lake and he was still a bit out of breath - and tired. Life was good.

For some reason it didn't seem quite right, this had already happened, years ago, if he remembered correctly, but it didn't bother him too much. _Don't burst that bubble just yet_, a voice at the back of his mind said. So he didn't. _Bubble, what bubble? _He distracted himself by listening in on the conversation between his mum and dad.

„... why you're so pleased with yourself," his mum said in an unfriendly way. _Oh no, they wouldn't argue here, on the lake, while he was sleeping, would they?_

"This discovery marks the beginning of a glorious career, and a new era for the Romulan Star Empire, Velal."

"What glorious career? Your cover was blown, and you've lost valuable allies, your crew _and_ you're ship!"

"I've destroyed Valdran's fleet. The Praetor will be grateful."

"Valdran was just a nuisance to the Empire, nothing more. Her "Alliance" of criminal Remans and disloyal Romulan _losers_ was never a real threat."

"You're talking like them, my love. Self-obsessed and filled to the brim with arrogance, what a good Romulan you still are, after all these years amongst the Federation!"

"Thank you."

"But you must admit, it's time the ancient Star Empire changes some of its principles. Or it will be just a matter of time until the rebellion will regain its power. That's the inconvenience with rebels: Kill one of them and you'll create a martyr. A dead rebel can do more damage than one who is alive."

"You killed Valdran not because you wanted to _end_ the rebellion." It was a statement, not a question.

"I did what the Praetor would have wanted," Chekov heard the man say, about whom he now definitely knew that he _wasn't _his dad, but the Romulan Commander Tamulok. He wasn't sure about the woman. Tamulok knew her. Was she from his ship? But they'd all been killed, had they not?

"I see," the woman said. He risked a peek, but could only see her legs. He was more aware of his surroundings now, and also of himself. What had started off as a minor throat irritation that caused him some breathing difficulty, had developed into a massive burning pain. With each breath he felt as if his throat was on fire. He wanted to cry out, to get something against that pain, or a at least a sip of water, but he knew he needed to constrain himself, for now. If they found out he was conscious, he'd be in trouble ...

"Velal, don't tell me you don't envy the Federation! _We_ hide, we play it safe, _we_ avoid contact, and act behind the scenes, while _they_ conquer the galaxy with their smiling diplomacy. Their territory is growing, their influence amongst neutral planets is increasing, they spread their culture, language and beliefs, and one day they will start invading the Romulan Star Empire. Not with weapons, Velal. No, not them. They will send diplomats, smile, promise peace and wealth to everyone, and they will poison the hearts of our people. Our people who are prone to such lures at the moment, because they are disappointed in the Senate, disappointed in a weak Praetor, and they support traitors like Valdran, as a means of protest!"

"_We_ are Romulans. We are strong, and our Empire _will_ prevail," the woman said, and Chekov could hear that she was stepping closer to his bio-bed.

Tamulok let out a breath and Chekov could hear him chuckle under it. "Yes, Velal, my love. Do you remember the night when we were walking in the Senate's garden? It was a warm night, laden with the heavy perfume of the d'laggas. I told you that I would make you Empress of the Romulan Star Empire. You laughed. But know, I will be able to keep my promise."

"With what you found on Vor-Ka-Ri?" Chekov strained to hear her, although he knew she was standing just beside him right now. He bit the inside of his lip. The pain was unbearable. Why didn't they go away? What were they doing here anyway? He couldn't bear this much longer, he knew. It was a miracle that they hadn't discovered he was awake, anyway. He _was_ being monitored, after all.

"Yes. You have no idea, Velal. What I'll find there, will give me more power than any Romulan ever had. But I won't use this power against our people, because I will win the people's _hearts_! It's not as if I hadn't learned anything from the Federation. All Romulans will _want_ me as their leader, they'll adore me as if I were their _god_! And I'll make you my empress, my goddess, if you wish. I'll bring the empire to ..."

The man was still talking. _My god, this guy is a megalomaniac_, Chekov thought and heard more than felt his own breath hitch. Immediately he felt the woman's hand on his shoulder. His heart stopped beating and he could feel himself go cold.

"You're not dreaming. But you will sleep now," she whispered to him. Then he felt a warmth creeping up inside of him, making him heavy and sleepy. What happened? Why did she do this, he thought, and then remembered that he was lying on a wooden bench on a boat. Floating on a lake. He could hear his father talking and felt the sun's warmth.


	4. Chapter 4

Kirk had made his promise true and had invited Bones for a drink (or more than one) after they had reached Starbase 3. He had also invited Spock, out of courtesy, not really expecting him to join them. Only he'd accepted the invitation, asking if it would be acceptable if Commander Tamulok joined them. The Romulan was waiting for the Vulcan delegation that was due to arrive in another day with the Farragut. Kirk had nothing against that, although he was surprised that Spock so intensively sought Tamulok's company.

When he'd informed Bones about their additional companions, his friend reacted in an unexpected way and had said he was also bringing along another guest, namely his Vulcan subordinate, Doctor T'Plok, who was eager to study human behaviour.

Bones had supervised the transfer of Doctor M'Benga from the Enterprise to the medical facilities of the starbase, while T'Plok had welcomed Mr. Sulu and taken him to sickbay to meet Chekov, who had still not regained consciousness, which made McCoy a little concerned. As far as he could tell, there was no reason why Chekov should still be unconcious. However, at this point they still could afford waiting just a little longer.

When they finally had met up with the rest of the group, Kirk led them all to the bar he had come to know and appreciate over his years in Starfleet.

o0o

The party of five sitting in the little bar of a more or less secluded part of Starbase 3 caught most of the other guests attention there for a moment. They weren't exotic enough for the wild looking humans, Andorians, Denobulans, Trills, and members of other species that McCoy couldn't immediately lable right now, who were the guests in the bar that Kirk had picked for them. Also, McCoy knew they all screamed "Starfleet", even though they were wearing civilian clothes, even Spock and T'Plok. But these space pirates, smugglers and drug dealers or whoever the clientele of this bar were, were trained in spotting starfleet personnel.

It didn't need an expert to make them a suspicious lot though, since three of them were Vulcan, and Vulcans weren't particularly known for frequenting bars like these, or any bars for that matter. Well, Tamulok of course was Romulan, but McCoy doubted that these people could tell the difference. _He_ sure as hell couldn't. From the looks alone, _Spock_ could pass as a Romulan. Only he didn't order Andorian ale as Tamulok and T'Plok had, but a glass of water, ambient temperature.

"Try to blend in, would you, Spock?" he said, annoyed at the Vulcan for making them stick out even more than they already did.

"Why, Doctor? Do you feel uncomfortable in my company?" Spock said, raising an eyebrow in his usual, but immensely annoying manner.

"Yes! And don't tell me you really have to ask a question like that, you green blooded party pooper." The exchange would have made anyone with a decent upbringing uncomfortable, McCoy realised. However, Kirk was used to this kind of banter, and T'Plok and Tamulok, their Vulcan respective Romulan companions, well McCoy didn't want to even imagine their upbringing.

"It _is_ illogical to deliberately poison your body," T'Plok said.

"Why then did you order Andorian ale?" Kirk asked her, interested.

"I thought it would be appropriate, in this situation," she answered, glancing at Tamulok who bowed his head, "there are certain social conventions that need to be respected. They are more important than complete physical integrity."

McCoy felt guilty. This Vulcan had a talent for making him feel that way, he realized. She was so different from Spock. "Please, don't. To press gang someone into doing something he or she doesn't want is not only very impolite, but it is also considered a crime amongst our people. You can drink whatever you want."

"But you just suggested that Spock ..."

"Believe me doctor, that is a completely different matter," Kirk came to his help, "it is a natural law that Spock and McCoy argue with each other whenever they open their mouths to address one another."

"It is not," Spock simply said, but refrained from clarifying that statement. McCoy grumbled something, and looked away. Kirk smiled. In fact, he had enjoyed the banter between his two friends, it was a sure sign that everything was okay, and he'd started to miss it.

When the waitress brought their drinks, Tamulok raised his glass against the light and examined the light blue colour of the liquor, then he took a sip, revelling in the taste.

"It's like Romulan ale, only not as strong," he said then raised his glass for a toast, "Wine gives courage and makes men more apt for passion."

"Ovid_," _Spock provided, raising an eyebrow again.

"A passionate man. Could have been a Romulan."

Kirk exchanged a surprised glance with McCoy. _This Romulan knows Ovid?_

"Master your passions or your passions will master you," T'Plok said, downing her ale and looking challengingly at Tamulok, or maybe McCoy just imagined it.

"Dr. T'Plok," Tamulok started. There _had_ been something in T'Plok's eyes, that had provoked Tamulok, McCoy concluded, "would you tell us the Vulcan legend of Vor-Ka-Ri?"

"According to a Vulcan legend, Vor-Ka-Ri was a planet on which those, who ... disagreed with Surak's teachings and left Vulcan, settled to build their own colony. Ironically, soon this colony became exactly what Surak had envisioned. The people built an absolutely harmonic and peaceful society. They also were said to have made great progress in science and technology, however they only used it for peaceful purposes and without doing damage to the environment. The society lived in an absolute balance: no overpopulation, no hunger, no illnesses. The people spent their time with ... idleness ... with creating art. The legend orignates around the time of the Great Awakening, when our people longed for a more stable society," T'Plok said.

"Would you like to live in a place like that, Doctor?" Tamulok asked McCoy, who had listened with a skeptical expression on his face.

"To tell you the truth, no. It would be a nice place to live in when you're retiring, though. When you've lived your life, made your experiences, and more or less are only awaiting death. We must face challenges, explore _and_ master our passions, and fight out conflicts. It's what makes us evolve. It's called _living_."

"Well spoken, Doctor," the Romulan said, and then turned to Spock, "What happened to that colony, Mr. Spock?"

"According to the Vulcan legend, at one point some people started to accumulate goods without having a need for them. With that they destroyed the balance. Some became greedy, others were consumed by envy. A war errupted that affected and finally destroyed the environment. At last the colony had to be abandoned."

"So much about mastering your passions," Kirk said, looking at his new Vulcan doctor. She could pass for a Romulan, he thought. There seemed to be a kind of passion, a challenge in her eyes that she had difficulty in controlling, as far as Kirk could tell. Vulcans _have_ emotions, they only know how to control them. Well, this Vulcan had some difficulty, only for the practised observer, but she had. The question was, why now? They were just talking about legends, weren't they?

Tamulok grabbed the edge of the table and leaned over to Spock now. "The Romulan legend is a little different, Mr. Spock. My ancestors left Vulcan because they didn't want to surpress their passions. They felt they were a valuable part of themselves. Passion is a source of power and energy within us. It needed to be canalised, to be used to create a great empire of strength and glory. To surpress our emotions means to cripple our souls. So when our ancestors left Vulcan, they found a planet to build their own civilisation. They were very few, great minds, great scientists, with a vision. It went remarkably well, they made advances in science and technology that were unheard of before. But one day their leader, a great philospher, found that their civilisation had failed. There was no passion among the people. They were idle, like ..."

"Sloths," Kirk provided helpfully, realizing that Tamulok had deliberately cricumvented that word.

"They were not the kind of inhabitants of the empire that they had envisioned and seeked. So he tried everything to spark their emotions again. He ignited greed in one group and envy in the other. He was the cause of the war, which destroyed the colony, and nearly destroyed the colonists as well. But it was a necessary purgatory. The strongest survived and found they needed a different approach to start a colony. They left Vor-Ka-Ri, leaving everything they had accomplished in technology there, to start a new colony, with a new philosophy. When they reached Romulus, they had a more sophisticated vision, they had evolved. While Vor-Ka-Ri was founded by Vulcans who had abandoned their homeworld, Romulus was founded by Romulans."

Spock raised an eyebrow and studied Tamulok with an otherwise impassionate expression, then his gaze shifted to Doctor T'Plok.

"What kind of technology did they develop on Vor-Ka-Ri?" Kirk asked.

"Legends, Captain. For example, there was said to be a brooch that made the one who wore it be liked and loved by all men and women around him," T'Plok answered.

"Not much is known about the actual technology they had, only that it was highly advanced, Captain," Tamulok added.

"That shield generator that destroyed the warbirds, didn't happen to be a piece of that technology, did it?" Kirk ventured.

"Now, Captain! If it were, well, then I'd take all the glory for having discovered Vor-Ka-Ri away from your Doctor McCoy here," Tamulok said, smiling at the doctor.

"Oh please. The last thing I want is to get an award from the Vulcan Science Academy for having discovered their lost colony! It would probably mean I have to wear dress uniform and give a speech in front of hundreds of Vulcans. I can really do without that," McCoy grumbled and looked at Kirk with pleading eyes that said: _Rescue me!_

"It would be a great honour, Doctor!" Spock said, diverting his attention from T'Plok to the other doctor at their table.

"Well, then _you_ take it. You drew the right conclusions. It is as much your discovery, as it is mine."

"That is not true."

"Who cares? _They_ don't know that."

"But _I_ do. I couldn't take an award for something that I didn't do."

"You have my permission."

"It does not matter if I have your permission or not. I simply don't deserve ..."

"Oh, you green blooded devil! You can't do me a favour even if it means great honour for you, can you?"

"There is no honour in taking something one doesn't deserve."

"Right. Forget it. Now, Commander, are you telling us that you weren't on that planet before?" McCoy said, wanting desperately to change the subject.

He didn't really have to, for another diversion was created when two Orion females appeared on the small stage in the back of the bar. The guests cheered and the barman announced a show of great erotic tension, and that all women, if they didn't want to get a headache, should leave the bar.


	5. Chapter 5

Reference to the episode "Bound" of season 4, _Enterprise_. Now, I know this is another series, however, in the Star Trek Universe, Captain Archer and his crew lived before Kirk, Spock, and the others. So, logically, Spock should know some details about that mission, which lead to the founding of the Federation, after all.

o0o

T'Plok stood up, and addressed her companions: "I desire to leave. As you've pointed out, there is no need to put up with physical discomfort, only to fulfill some conventional social laws."

"T'Plok, Vulcans are immune to the pheromones Orion women spread, and it will be quite an experience, and a great opportunity to study human behaviour," McCoy said chuckling excitedly, had she been human, he would have felt uncomfortable. However, she was a Vulcan, and in her eyes their reputation probably couldn't be damaged any worse.

"I hope Romulans are not immune," Kirk said, watching Tamulok who was shifting on his seat a bit nervously, "you'd miss all the fun."

"Captain, I will accompany T'Plok back to the Enterprise. I have tasks to fulfill," Spock said, watching his companions with a sense of uneasiness. He had experienced the human reaction towards the women from Orion, and although he understood the biology behind it, he always associated this behaviour with some loss of dignity. He did not need to witness it again.

"Please, Spock, stay. Pheromones or not, Orion women have a great talent for dancing. It is aesthetically pleasing, be assured. And it is interesting to watch the reactions of the other species to them. Have you noticed that many Denobulans left as well?" Tamulok had put a hand on the Vulcan's arm to keep him in his seat.

"Yes. The pheromones stimulate the hibernation cycle within Denobulan males."

"You mean, they'd fall asleep during the performance?" McCoy said, astonished.

"Not immediately. But if I recall correctly, there was an incident on the old Enterprise, where three Orion slave girls attempted to capture the ship, by lulling the captain and the male crew. The females responded with headaches, the Denobulan doctor with increased fatigue, and the Vulcan subcommander did not show any reactions."

"That is all very interesting, Mr. Spock. However I choose to leave. Goodbye, Captain, Doctor, Commander." T'Plok bowed to them, then left somewhat hurriedly. It was also left unclear whom she had meant with "Commander" - Spock, or the Romulan - Spock observed. She had left _someone_ out. That was strange, a Vulcan would normally not make such a mistake. Especially not one who was so eager on perfecting her social skills among humans.

There was a sound of a gong and then an exotic, rhythmical and somewhat savage music came over the speakers.

The two green skinned dancers slipped out of their robes gracefully. They were dressed in what seemed like animal skin, that covered their hips and chest, but left enough of that dark green skin uncovered to excite. They threw their heads to the side simultaneousley, so that their dark hair flew into the air, only to land on their thin shoulders again - like liquid velvet.

McCoy was captured. He knew all about the biochemical processes that were being ignited in his brain right now, and he was thankful for them. Hallelujah! How great it was to be human! Whoever it was that had invented the hypothalamus, _he _needed an award from the Vulcan Science Academy, McCoy chuckled to himself, or _she_.

The air seemed to grow denser and more humid. It was becoming warm. Kirk took another sip of his Saurian brandy without diverting his eyes from the two Orions. Their movements were not particularly erotic, not like striptease dancers or anything, yet they were more exciting than anything he'd seen in a long time. Rhythmically and smoothly, they moved their bodies in perfect sync. It seemed as if they had two pairs of arms, like Kali, only it was their elaborate and exciting movements that fooled him.

He was vaguely aware of movement beside him. Spock. He had left. Kirk wasn't surprised, not to be attracted by the Orions and confronted with the behaviour of his staring and lusting companions was probably embarrassing. Kirk turned his head just a little more. The Romulan was also rising, but unlike Spock, his gaze was fixed on the front of the bar.

Kirk followed his gaze, expecting to see the Orion dancers again, but he was mistaken. A harsh light blinded him, he felt himself grow dizzy, and then he heard an explosion.

_Light travels faster than sound, _was his last conscious thought.


	6. Chapter 6

"Captain. Captain Kirk? Jim?" Spock's voice was the first thing he registered when he came to. That, and the sound of coughing. He opened his eyes, to find them blurry with tears and dragged his arm over his face, only to realise that the coughing was actually coming from himself.

He fought to keep his breathing under control. His throat itched, but he surpressed his cough reflex, looking at his left hand that had been bandaged. He then consciously took notice of Spock, who seemed to be alright, but there was dust and soot all over his clothes. He was kneeling in front of him, steadying him against an overturned table.

"Spock!" The word produced a cough again and Spock handed him a bottle of water, still steadying him.

"You've inhaled some dust and smoke. You've also cut your hand on the glass shards that came flying in the explosion wave, but Doctor McCoy has already tended to the cuts."

He took a sip of the water which did a lot to soothe his throat. Taking a look around, he saw the whole chaos that once had been this bar.

There was only emergency lighting. But he could see enough to know that not one chair or table in front of them was still standing at the place it was supposed to. Underneath the debris of wood, glass, and melted synthetic material the bar guests lay, you could hear them more than you could see them. No one screamed though, they were faintly moaning, or crying, but no one screamed.

"Where's Bones?" he asked, searching the room. McCoy had been sitting right next to him.

"Tending to the injured. He is unharmed," Spock reassured, then as an afterthought he added, "as far as I could tell."

_Yeah, as far as you can tell. I got the message_, Kirk thought. He looked to his other side, where Commander Tamulok had been sitting, and could only stare in disbelief at the massive metal beam that had fallen onto the table and seats just beside him, and had mercilessly crushed everything underneath it.

"Tamulok?" Kirk asked Spock.

"He must have been buried underneath that beam, Captain. My tricorder shows no lifesigns."

Kirk nodded, still a bit dazed. Romulan or not, he had liked him in a strange way. His death definetely was a loss for the Federation, since Tamulok had been willing to negotiate and mediate between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. Even if the talks had failed in the end, the experience would have been invaluable. Although the Romulans had been their enemies for a long time, Romulan culture and customs were still a mystery to the Federation. They had concealed themselves well.

Kirk could see Bones now. He was kneeling beside an injured man on the floor, who was moaning something, grabbing the front of his shirt. Bones looked up and around, finding Nurse Chapel kneeling at the side of an Andorian.

Kirk got his feet under him and dragged himself towards the nurse and her patient. He could see the man was trying to breathe around the dark blue blood dripping from his mouth. Christine turned him to his side, and the gurgling sound stopped.

"Get over here, nurse!" Bones shouted at her.

"Yes, doctor," she said, waiting another second, then with a slow movement, closed the eyes of the Andorian. That sickening sound had stopped, because the man had stopped breathing, Kirk realized, not because his breathing had gotten any easier for him.

"Miss Chapel, welcome back," he said tiredly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Captain. Thank you!" she looked up at him, surprised, seeing him for the first time, since her arrival.

"Nurse! I need you _here_, now stop tending to the dead and start helping those with a chance to live," McCoy barked, then unclenched the man's hand from his shirt, pressed a piece of gauze in his hand and secured it on the man's shoulder wound.

"Bones! You okay?" Kirk asked, trying to assess his friend's injuries. The front of his shirt was soaked in blood he realized, though most of it wasn't human.

"I am. You landed on top of me. I may have a bruised rib, but you took all the glass shards for me. You alright?" McCoy shortly glanced up at Kirk before turning his attention back to his patient.

Kirk nodded, watching Bones and Nurse Chapel work hand in hand, sealing the numerous wounds and cuts.

"What are you doing here, Christine?" he asked her, wondering. She had just arrived on the Enterprise, what could she have wanted in this bar?

"I came to look for Dr. McCoy, I wanted to inform him of Chekov's condition."

McCoy looked up at her with a hopeful smile. "Has he regained consiousness?"

Christine hestitated, "No, he ..."

"Why didn't you use your communicator?" It was Spock standing over her, cutting off her reply which was uncharacteristic for him and made Kirk's alarm go off.

"I couldn't reach him. He didn't answer his communicator," Christine said, somewhat defensively, she hadn't expected being interrogated by Spock.

Kirk took out his own communicator. "Kirk to Enterprise."

Nothing. He tried again, with the same result.

"Captain, I tried to call the Enterprise just after the explosion and once again a few moments ago, without success. It could be a malfunction in my communicator, possibly caused by the explosion. This would also explain why your communicator doesn't seem to be functioning now. However, it does not explain why Dr. McCoy's communicator did not work even before the explosion."

"Spock. I may have been ... distracted before," McCoy said, groping for his communicator, handing it to Spock.

"Are you saying, somebody sabotaged our communicators?" Kirk looked questioningly at his first officer.

"Miss Chapel, did you meet Dr. T'Plok on your way here?" Spock asked the nurse, examining McCoy's communicator.

"No. I haven't met her at all, yet," she said, remembering her surprise when Dr. Taylor had told her that they now had a Vulcan colleague. A Vulcan colleague that seemed to get along well with their boss.

"Spock? What are you suggesting?" McCoy asked.

"Tamulok. We need to find him," Kirk said, walking over to the metal beam lying on the floor.

"Find him? Jim, he was right beside you. There can't be much of him left," McCoy said, leaving his patient in Chapel's capable hands, following Jim.

"You may be right. But I suspect that there isn't _anything_ of him left here," Kirk said walking around the heavy piece trying to move it.

"You mean he escaped?"

Kirk turned around. "The Orions. Where are the Orion slave girls?" he asked McCoy, who was again sweeping the grounds for more injured people.

McCoy shrugged. "Didn't see them. But _how_ could he have escaped?" he asked, not comprehending the whole situation. What about T'Plok, and ... what was that with Chekov? He searched for Chapel again, finding her and walking to her side.

"A transporter, of course," Spock answered McCoy's question, standing beside his Captain, showing him his and McCoy's communicator. "They _were_ sabotaged, Captain. We cannot raise the Enterprise, and I assume they cannot reach us."

"If our signal was lost, the Enterprise should have detected that, and the alarm should have gone off," Kirk said, balling his fist. He had fooled him. That Romulan commander had fooled him, although he'd always had an uneasy feeling ...

"Our signals are intact. Only communication is not possible," Spock said.

Kirk walked over to Chapel and McCoy, Spock following.

"So what about Chekov?" he heard McCoy say.

"He's had a seizure," the nurse answered, "Dr. Taylor had it under control, but since this was an unusual reaction, we tried to reach you," she said.

"A seizure? That is unusual. Unless, ..." McCoy looked up at Spock, "Dr. T'Plok. You asked about her. Why?"

"Nurse, give me your communicator," Kirk said.

Christine looked up, embarrassed. "I don't have one, sir. I'd just come aboard, and went to see Chekov straight away. I simply forgot to ..."

She stopped and, she and McCoy watched in disbelief as Spock and Kirk dissolved in a transporter beam.

"Now, Christine, you should know that it is your duty to carry a communicator whenever you leave the ship!" McCoy shouted at her, not because he was particularly angry with her, but because this whole situation was becoming more frustrating by the minute. When he'd regained consiousness he'd found himself under Kirk's body and for a second there, he had believed he was the only survivor of this attack. He soon had heard Spock's voice, calling for him and Jim, and had answered, relieved. Spock had been carrying an emergency medical kit, and after having given him a short once over, he had wordlessly handed it to him, so that he could examine and treat Jim, who fortunately had not been injured too severely.

Jim had been damn lucky, as usual, McCoy had realized, after having glanced to their left where the Romulan commander had been seated. Had Kirk been flung on top of Commander Tamulok instead of on top of himself, he would have died, too. _Did you shield me on purpose, Jim? _McCoy had asked himself then, feeling uncomfortable, angry and guilty. He'd probably never find out, though.

"I wasn't even on duty, yet." McCoy heard Christine say, and he looked at her. It was just like her to go to sickbay first, after having returned to the Enterprise after her leave. She had probably been concerned about Chekov, and then had volunteered to return to the starbase in order to find him. Him, who hadn't answered his communicator, because he had been drooling over some Orion slave girls. _Talk about duty_.

"Sorry," he quickly said, "Enterprise probably picked up their signals and beamed them out of here. Spock still had my communicator," he said looking around, "I wonder where the rescue team is. I mean, they must have noticed the explosion by now," he said looking around him, suddenly feeling very tired.

He was getting too old for this. Why couldn't he avoid getting into trouble, even on a simple shore leave? Well, it hadn't been _that_ simple, he realized, for if he had wanted to stay out of trouble, he had been in the wrong company. Jim was a trouble magnet, and a Romulan was never safe to be around. And that T'Plok certainly had been a little bit _strange_. And Spock, well, Spock couldn't negate the negative kharma of the other three - actually he was the worst of them all.


	7. Chapter 7

Kirk was caught off guard, but also felt somewhat relieved when he felt the familiar tingling sensation that was a sure sign for being transported. He had wanted to contact the Enterprise, now they had contacted him, brought him back, actually. _Good old Scotty_. He must have become concerned when he heard about the explosion and couldn't reach them over their communicators.

However, when Kirk rematerialised, he found himself not in Enterprise's transporter room, but inside a small cargo vessel, with two Orions and a Romulan pointing their phasers at him and Spock, who had been transported with him.

"Where's the doctor?" Tamulok asked coarsely.

"Dead," Kirk said automatically. Now, the good news was they had found Tamulok. The bad news was - well, obvious.

Kirk took stock of their situation. The Orions were male, that meant the dancers were probably in the front of the ship together with T'Plok and maybe some more Orions. Tamulok was holding an Orion weapon, Kirk was fairly sure. So, the Orions must be his accomplices. That was strange. What interest did the Orions have in helping him?

"You promised us _three _officers, Tamulok," one of the Orions said, raising his voice.

"You heard him. What good does a dead hostage do? You have the more valuable ones anyway," Tamulok said impatiently. It was clear to Kirk that Tamulok did not particularly cherish this Orion who grunted and then went over to them, bound their hands, and led them off the small platform.

"You disappoint me, Tamulok. You collaborate with these green troglodytic terrorists?"

"We're not terrorists, we're traders," the other Orion said, and was rewarded with a slap by the first. _It's like watching a slapstick comedy_, Kirk thought, and smiled slightly.

"What do you trade?" he asked innocently, addressing the first, whom he thought of as the leader.

"You, Captain Kirk, are our passengers' fare."

"You're _ferrymen_, then," Kirk said schoolmasterly.

"The Federation does not negotiate with abductors. I believe we are useless for you," Spock told the Orion.

"You won't be sold to the Federation, there are others who are interested in you," the Orion said smugly. _He may not be as stupid as I thought,_ Kirk realized.

"I'm flattered. Where are we going?" Kirk asked nonchalantly, looking at Tamulok.

"Careful, Captain! Dead, you may be useless to the Orions. But I'll soon have other things with which I can pay my debts to them. I'm not overly interested in your well-being, if you understand what I'm saying."

"We're going back to Vor-Ka-Ri? Face it, Tamulok, all the stories you've heard, are just that: _Stories_. Legends, myths! Surely you are old enough not to believe in fairy tales anymore?" Kirk was furious at this man. He wanted to provoke him, and also make him suspicious to the Orions, who surely would want to protect their precious cargo, namely Spock and himself. Maybe he could convince them that Tamulok was mad. Kirk did not know what to think of this Romulan himself.

"You'll see, Captain Kirk," was all Tamulok said, but Kirk thought he'd seen a flash of anger cross his face.

"Don't you think Starfleet will search for us? They'll find you in no time! They know you're obsessed with that planet!"

Tamulok stopped, turned around and put his hand around Kirk's throat, not pressing down, but Kirk could feel that it cost him a considerable amount of control. "_That_ is exactly why we're not headed there, Captain. Now, don't think you can escape by provoking me or my allies. We have a plan. Safe as houses," he whispered into his ear.

Kirk had to cross his eyes to see him properly, so close was he to his face. "You know, you never told me why you know so many idioms."

Tamulok let go of him, took a step backwards and smiled: "It's been a hobby of mine." With that he left, leaving Spock and Kirk in the small transporter room, bound, and guarded by the two Orions.

o0o

Finally the rescue team had arrived, taking over. McCoy stood a bit indecisively to the side, counting the dead. It was a bad habit, he knew. But he couldn't help it. A lot of them were shady characters, some of them may not be missed at all. So at least _someone_ should remember them.

"Leonard?" It was Scotty, standing in front of him suddenly, looking concerned.

"Scotty? What are you doing here?" he asked him, blinking away the dust that was still flying around in the destroyed bar.

"We were worried about you all. We've detected the explosion, but couldn't reach you, your communicators must have been damaged in the attack."

"Or they were sabotaged."

"What?"

"Don't ask me, Scotty. Didn't Spock explain it to you?"

"Mr. Spock? Where is he? Where's the captain, Tamulok, Dr. T'Plok, ...?" Scotty turned around, scanning the room, only finding Nurse Chapel, who was sitting on the floor, her back against a fallen beam."

"What do you mean? You didn't beam them on board? The captain and Spock?" McCoy looked at the engineer in alarm.

"What? No! We lost your signal just after the explosion."

"But they both were beamed away, a few minutes ago. They suspected this whole thing to be the work of Tamulok. He escaped!"

"Wha- ...?" Scotty did not end his question, but took out his commuicator and contacted Enterprise. Of course, no one had seen the missing people.

"Doctor, Christine, you go back to the Enterprise, get yourselves checked out in sickbay. I'm going to contact the starbase's commander."

With that he left his two crewmates, and stumbled out of the destroyed bar. Of course, whenever _he_ took command of the Enterprise, there _had_ to be some kind of crisis. He _never_ got to command the ship when everything was normal.

It should really be written down in Starfleet regulations that the two highest ranking commanding officers should not go on away missions together. Now, of course, they hadn't been on an away mission, Scotty reminded himself. This was shore leave, they were safe and sound on Starbase 3. However, they had managed to get abducted. _Together_. And here _he_ was, Chief Engineer Scott, having to solve the problem. He really had enough to do already, overlooking the repairs of the Enterprise. Right. The Enterprise was unable to move, as was the P'Jem, the only other Starfleet vessel currently on the base. He sighed, when it rains, it pours.

o0o

Chekov awoke again, only this time, it wasn't nearly as pleasant as before. He didn't feel himself floating, he didn't think he was on a boat on a lake, and he knew he wasn't on vacation. His head hurt, badly, and not only his head, but also his arms and legs, and back, and belly. He couldn't move a muscle without that screaming pain. He should call out to someone, maybe that woman again who would give him another hypo, one that would send him off into his dreams again.

He drew a breath, and was greeted by flames in his throat, just as before. _I inhaled smoke_, he recalled. _Must have burnt the inside of my throat_. He coughed, which didn't help, it only caused the muscles in his belly to cramp. He felt panic rise up inside him and let out a whimper that only hurt him some more, and brought tears to his eyes. For a moment he concentrated on not letting those tears fall, but when another bout of coughing hit him, he didn't care anymore, and just prayed to lose consciousness again.

He became aware of someone touching him. Turning him on his side, saying something.

"... able to breathe more easily," he heard this someone say, gently. He tried to bring himself under control again. He knew he was crying, and he couldn't _breathe _properly, sobs where now mixing with the cough. Someone had put a hand on his arm, gently drawing circles with his thumb.

"It does not look as if it were helping him," he heard another man say. _Sulu? _The picture of his friend appeared in front of him, was he hallucinating again? Sulu was on extended leave.

"It did, believe me. Now, be a bit more patient with him," Dr. McCoy said. Chekov recognised him now.

That woman, _Velal_, had she been a figment of his dreams? Or was _this_ part of a dream?

"I'm not impatient with Pavel, I'm impatient with _your treatments_, Doctor," Sulu said, and his tone was downright hostile, Chekov realised. He'd never heard Hikaru talk like that before. Certainly not towards McCoy, who could become really nasty, when addressed in the wrong way.

"Mr. Sulu ... I understand your concern, believe me, I share it. However, ...," McCoy replied, only slightly annoyed.

"Doctor!" a female voice interrupted. And they finally took notice of him.

"Chekov!"

"Pavel?"

He tried to greet them in reply, but could only produce a hoarse cry, that hurt is throat badly again. However, he was able to surpress the coughing this time.

"Shh, don't talk. Just blink. Can you hear me?" McCoy asked him.

He blinked. Actually he blinked every five seconds or so. How could they know that this was in response to the question, he asked himself.

"Good. You gave us quite a scare, Chekov. You've burnt your trachea when you inhaled the smoke. Also your hands were burnt, but they are mostly healed now, although they should be overly sensitive for a while. You've had several seizures, that's why you probably have some sore muscles. I also imagine you're experiencing quite a headache."

Quite yes. Some sore muscles, well _that_ was an understatement. He blinked again, twice this time. It was the equivalent of complaining about the pain, he thought, willing the doctor to understand.

"Yes. Now, we'll get you something for the pain, and some ice chips for your throat," the doctor smiled at him.

Wow, I'm a telepath, Chekov thought giddily. And blinked again.

McCoy gave him a pat on the shoulder then left his field of vision. He felt a tug on his arm and looked at his hands, which looked red and wrinkly. They didn't hurt, though, only itched.

"Hey, Pavel. Can't leave you alone, can I? Look, at you," Sulu said.

He was actually here, well they must be back at starbase 3, Chekov concluded, and was finally overpowered by the urge to cough again.

It hurt, very much actually, but it wasn't accompanied by the panic he'd felt earlier. Sulu was there, trying to help. He very gently held his hands close to his mouth now, and softly blew over the sensitive skin in their palms. It distracted him, eased the itch, and reminded him again of his summer vacation on the lake. Though he did feel slightly embarrassed, when the coughing had stopped.

"A trick I learnt from my grandmother," Sulu lied, gently releasing his hands. Actually it was an idea that had just come naturally to him that very moment, but he'd seen how Chekov eyed him in such an embarrased way, that he had to think of something.

Chekov nodded, "A Russian invention," he breathed quietly.

Nurse Chapel who had been standing there, watching them, quietly laughed and shook her head, exchanging a look with Sulu.

"Come to think of it, yes. I think my grandmother was Russian," he said.

Chekov smiled. He was hurting, that was sure, but he felt alright. Not happy, but content. His eyes were drooping, when he felt movement at his side again.

"Ice-chips. Give him some when he wakes again. They'll soothe his throat," Dr. McCoy said to Sulu, and Chekov remembered something. He needed to ask them about Velal. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up, only to find his muscles were too sore for that kind of movement.

"You want to try some?" Sulu asked, surprised by the sudden movement.

"N-not now. Dr. McCoy?" he said, risking to raise his voice a bit. Nothing happened, no cough, but McCoy turned around and approached him again.

"What is it?" he asked him.

"I - h-heard. A Rom - ulan woman. Velal?"

"Heard her? When?" McCoy wanted to know. It was of course possible that Chekov had been imagining things, however, it was also possible, that he had overheard a conversation between Tamulok and his accomplice. He still couldn't quite imagine that T'Plok had been his collaborator, however, if he remembered correctly, Spock had given such an indication in the bar.

"Earlier, when I woke," Chekov said. Talking was becoming easier now. "I remember Tamulok and a woman. They were talking about the Romulan Empire and a rebellion. He called her Velal."

McCoy stroked his chin, in thought. "We think your were given high dosages of a partiuclar sedative in combination with a muscle relaxant. They caused the seizures. The woman you heard was probably our Vulcan doctor, who came here to support our medical staff."

"Not Vulcan. Sh-e was Romulan, Doctor."

"Well, it is possible. She has disappeared, together with Tamulok. But why didn't she give you the sedative earlier? She could easily have given you a hypo before you had a chance to overhear their conversation. Or she could have simply talked to Tamulok some place else?"

"Or she could have killed me," Chekov concluded. It was true, why did she only sedate him? And before she had done so, she even told him, that what he'd overheard, had not been a dream.

"Maybe she _wanted_ Chekov to hear what they were talking about?" Sulu speculated.

"I think she did not particularly like Commander Ta-mulok. H-he talked about leading the Empire into a glo-rious future, and making her em-press."

McCoy nodded, putting a hand on Chekov's shoulder again. "Well you stay here Chekov, and rest. Sulu, make sure he drinks something, and sleeps a little more. I'll go and tell ... the others." McCoy exchanged a knowing look with Christine, and went to find Scotty.


	8. Chapter 8

"Spock, what do you make of Tamulok?" Kirk asked his companion. He had been thinking for a while now, trying to figure out their captor's plans.

"He cannot be trusted, Captain. He has not only betrayed us, but also his own people. Valdran, the commander of the rebel ships, seemed to think of him as an ally and in the next moment he destroyed her, along with five Romulan warbirds."

"Not to mention his own ship and crew," Kirk agreed, eyeing the two Orions who were listening with interest. Kirk did not know how Tamulok had been able to contact the Orions, but he was fairly sure that it must have been rather spontaneously. They did not seem to have known each other for long. Maybe they could convince these Orions to break their contract with their Romulan clients.

"He destroyed his own ship?" the Orion, who had informed Kirk that they were _traders_, not _abductors_, asked.

Kirk put on a solemn face and looked the Orion in the eyes. "Yes. His ship, together with his crew who had been with him for at least five years. Well, after all that, wouldn't you have believed him, when he said, that he wanted to negotiate with the Federation? I mean after all, he'd had the opportunity to destroy _us _instead of his fellow Romulans," Kirk said, and although he said it to unsettle the Orions, it was the truth.

"I think, Captain, that he is mentally unstable, narcissitic, egocentric, to the degree of being insane," Spock said, and Kirk tried to assess if this was an exaggeration provided by Spock who must have guessed Kirk's plan, or Spock's true opinion. It did not really matter, however, Kirk realized.

"Shut up!" the other Orion then shouted at Spock. Doctor T'Plok, which probably wasn't her real name as Kirk guessed, had appeared in the back during Spock's speech.

"But he is right," she said, addressing the Orion.

"You!" the Orion answered surprised and angry, "You contacted us. Are you insane too?"

The woman smiled slightly. It was an expression that Kirk found strangely unsettling on a Vulcan's face. _She isn't Vulcan, she's a Romulan_, Kirk reminded himself, at least, that's what he thought she was.

"For you, it makes no difference," she said, and with it she pulled a phaser from behind her back, and shot at the two Orions who didn't have time to take another breath before they hit the floor, dead.

Kirk and Spock exchanged a look of surprise. Their situation had changed. _But for the better or the worse?_

"Dr. T'Plok, since you are a psychologist I trust your diagnosis on Tamulok's mental state. Now, are you planning on curing him, or what?" Kirk asked the pointy-eared woman after a moment.

She strode over to them and cut the ropes on their wrists, then stood back and aimed her phaser at them.

"I'm neither T'Plok nor a studied psychologist. My name is Velal. Tamulok is my superior."

"Really? Did he order you to kill the Orions and cut us loose?" Kirk rubbed his wrists.

"Tamulok is a very high member of the Tal Shiar. The Senate found him to be too ambitious and too powerful and they wanted to eliminate him. An assassination would have risked an open uprising, since Tamulok has a talent in raising people's sympathy and he is well-liked among our citizens. So they assigned him to the mission on Meriah Five, which they thought to be far enough away from Romulus."

"Obviously a false assumption. Has Tamulok lead the rebellion with Valdran?" Spock asked.

Velal did not falter in aiming her phaser. "There is no such thing as a "rebellion", Mr. Spock. Valdran was Tamulok's playmate. He probably told her to make her empress of the new Romulan / Reman empire they would found, or such poppycock. She believed him and started a mutiny. She and her few followers were a nuisance to the Empire, one that Tamulok has kindly eliminated, but nothing more."

"If you say so," Kirk said, smiling slightly in reaction to Velal's use of the colloquialism that she may have picked up from Bones in the short time she'd been on board the Enterprise.

"Tamulok has a weakness for women. Not unlike yourself, Captain Kirk."

"If you say so," Kirk repeated. He suddenly felt a bit intimidated by her, a feeling that he didn't like - at all, and so he pushed it away.

They seemed to have gotten between the lines of a power struggle within the Romulan government, _how_ they had gotten into this mess, Kirk couldn't really say at this moment, only that it had started on Meriah Five.

"We're going back to Meriah, where Tamulok still has friends," Kirk said. It was a guess of course, but she didn't need to know that.

Velal bowed her head politely, seeming like a Vulcan again. "Very good, Captain. Those are Tamulok's plans. Ultimately he wants to return to Vor-Ka-Ri. He says he found artifacts there that will enable him to overthrow the Senate and make him Praetor and me Empress."

"And you don't desire to become an empress," Spock concluded.

"Commander, I was sent here to keep an eye on the enemies of the Romulan Star Empire. I've spent long enough amidst yourselves to know that the Federation is no threat. Tamulok on the other hand is a bit ... unpredictable. We Romulans like to play it safe, so I've decided to foil his plans, whatever they are, by helping you escape." 

Velal was choosing her words with caution, Kirk realized. There was no way of telling how weak the Romulan government really was at this point. It could well be that there had never been a rebellion, _or_ that a civil war was momentarily waging within the boundaries of the Romulan territory. Tamulok could be nothing more than an inconvenient people's favourite, _or_ the public enemy number 1 of Romulus.

Velal was probably counting on the fact that the Federation would hunt down Tamulok and do away with him. The Romulan people then could be told that Tamulok had been murdered by the Federation, not by their own government.

"I'm glad that Doctor McCoy isn't really dead," Velal said.

Kirk tried not to let his surprise show. How did she know about that?

"Why does that interest you?" he asked her.

"A sentimental penchant. I found his company very refreshing after spending so much time together with Vulcans. And your true question was: _How do you know?_ Well, I'm not a Vulcan psychologist but a Romulan Tal Shiar agent. Reading people's minds is part of my job. When I used one of your doctor's flowery language expressions you didn't look as if you were mourning his death."

"You're a bit of a narcissist yourself, aren't you?" Kirk said. He didn't like her arrogant behaviour towards them.

"A Romulan vice, I admit. However, if he is alive, it makes your rescue a bit easier. Crawl into the emergency escape capsules! There's a moon around the gas giant in the star system we're currently passing. Its climate and vegetation may not very pleasant, but you will be able to survive long enough, until one of your vessels will pick up their emergency beacons and rescue you."

"The Enterprise and the P'Jem have been damaged," Spock said, "it may take days until Starfleet finds us."

"Maybe. Doctor McCoy will see to it that it takes only days and not weeks. I'd prefer if you didn't die there, but even if you do, the Federation will eventually find Tamulok."

"If you think he is so dangerous, why don't you kill him yourself, here and now?"

"We value loyalty, Captain."

Kirk blinked. Did she really have _moral_ reservations? He found that hard to believe.

"So you let someone else do the dirty work for you?"

Velal opened her mouth to answer, when a massive jolt sent them all to the floor. A shot was fired from Velal's phaser by accident, hitting a conduit, which started to fume immediately, spitting sparks and gaseous clouds.

"You false tongue of a worm!" Kirk heard Tamulok say, before the ship was jolted once again, this time by an explosion in one of her engines, that send her spinning and pressed all her passengers to the walls.

For the second time in only a few hours, Kirk inhaled smoke. When the ship crashed on the little moon orbiting around the gas giant, Kirk and Spock were unconscious.


	9. Chapter 9

Kirk awoke to the sound of thumping. His head was propped up against the wall, no the floor, he realised. The small Orion ship lay on its side. There was a green haze everywhere and he smelled smoke and something else. Something familiar, yet something dangerous. _Plasma__?_

Suddenly he was fully awake and up on his feet. On the opposite side of him, Tamulok, Velal and Spock were frantically beating at the smoldered airlock which was jammed. He knew that they needed to get out fast. When he closed the gap to his companions the airlock suddenly gave away and they all stumbled out into the moon's night.

They could not see much, there were no stars. The air seemed thick and hot and it was hard to breathe. He heard a hiss behind him, coming from the damaged ship, and instinctively threw himself on the ground just a second before the leaking plasma finally caught fire and blazes of green flames sliced through the atmosphere.

He could feel the others had also evaded the burning flames by pressing themselves flat on the ground. It was their space training that had saved their lives. Plasma fire was hot, it could vaporize you completely within the split part of a second.

Kirk felt sharp thorns penetrate his trousers and prick his knee. The ground was laced with short, hard grass, and dry and thorny scrubs. Luckily they had missed the larger patches of it or they would have been shredded.

They all crawled a few metres further away from the burning ship until they got up again.

"There go the Graces of Orion," Tamulok said, "the lips red as human blood, the hair black as ebony, and the skin green as plasma fire."

Kirk checked his belt and pockets. His communicator had been taken away from him. He also didn't have a phaser or anything that could function as a weapon and he didn't think Spock had one. They were both still in the civilian clothes which they had worn in the bar. Tamulok and Velal also had not changed their clothes, but their's weren't as sooty and dusty. They had probably been beamed out just before the explosion. They, and the two Orion dancers, whom Tamulok had just now described as some obscure Orion versions of Snowhite. There was no way that they had survived the crash _and_ the plasma fire, so much was sure by one look at the front of the small Orion ship.

They were stranded on a moon around a gas giant, with no one knowing where they were. Of course people knew they were missing, but the Enterprise was not able to travel, nor had there been any other of starfleet's ships available. They probably knew which direction the Orion ship had been going, but from the time they had needed to get to here, Kirk estimated that they had disappeared from Enterprise's sensors a while ago. Unless they'd found another ship to go after them, nobody would know they had crashed, let alone where they were. And going after Orion criminals and Romulan spies with a small, probably unarmed merchant ship, or a freighter, was not really something he'd recommend.

_If it had been Bones and Spock who'd been beamed out of that bar, I of course, would have gone after them in some reckless mission, _Kirk thought, _but then again, it is my nature to do stupid things like that. _

Scotty wasn't as stupid. Or was he? Velal had been pretty surethat _Bones _would find a way to go after them.

Kirk imagined Bones talking, yelling, and insulting some high official at Starfleet Command right now. Yes, he'd do that, regardless of what it would mean to his career, but he wouldn't chase an Orion ship all over the galaxy. He'd be worried to death, though. _Sorry, Bones_, Kirk thought, _I know these past couple of weeks haven't been the most pleasant ones for you._

"I was able to activate the emergency beacon before we crashed," Velal said, "it was built to survive crashes like these, maybe it's still functioning."

"Unlikely," Tamulok said, "however, there's nothing we can do. It'll be days before we can enter the ship again to find out."

"Captain, if we want to survive, we need to find water and shelter from the sun. I believe it is going to be very hot, once the sun has risen," Spock told Kirk, ignoring the two Romulans.

Kirk nodded. Actually, they had a better chance of survival if they buried their differences for the time being, however, he wasn't so sure about what Tamulok would do. Just before the crash, Tamulok had looked as if he had wanted to kill first Velal, and then them, now he seemed to be calm and cool-headed.

"Velal, Captain, Commander," Tamulok started after having noticed the look his companions were giving him, "I suggest we concentrate on getting out of here. Trying to kill each other will only result in a considerable waste of energy."

In the green shine of the plasma fire Kirk could see Velal nodding slowly.

"I agree, Commander," Kirk finally said, already regretting it.

o0o

"Leonard, you don't know what kind of weapons they have. That thing is fast, but it only takes two or three phaser blasts, and it'll light up like a Christmas tree," Scotty tried to reason with Dr. McCoy. They were standing at the dock, looking at a small ship that McCoy had been able to hire from a Trill merchant.

"I still don't know how a Romulan could serve on a Vulcan ship without being detected. I mean, where did she come from? Did they invent a complete identity for her, or was she surgically altered to resemble a particular real-life Vulcan? And if so, didn't anyone notice, she _changed_? And if not, didn't anyone notice she _appeared out of the blue_? But I'm glad she wasn't detected before. I think she's on our side, or she wouldn't have let Chekov overhear her conversation."

"Didn't ya hear what I said?" Scotty asked him.

Of course, he shouldn't complain. In fact _he_ had been the one who had pointed out to the doctor that just because there weren't any other starfleet vessels docked on the base didn't mean that there weren't _any_ ships that could pursue the Orions and Romulans who had abducted Jim Kirk and Spock. And _he_ had been the one who brought to McCoy's attention that not only the doctor himself, but also Lieutenant Sulu, who was an excellent pilot, were on leave and could do whatever they wanted in their freetime. But now that they were about to do just that, he regretted it. Because it had also meant, that Scotty, who was chief engineer of the Enterprise and as such responsible for supervising the repairs, was _not_ on leave and could _not_ join the two in finding their captain and first officer.

"Maybe we should wait for the Farragut to arrive," he tried, already knowing what the doctor would say.

"The Farragut will arrive in over a _day_. Until then the Orion ship could be anywhere. We must go after it as long as it is on our sensors."

Scotty chewed his lip. The Enterprise and her crew were his responsibility now, and here he was, about to lose two other crewmembers, temporarily, of course ... hopefully.

"Just don't do anything stupid. Just follow them, to see where they're going. It's good that you're not going in a starfleet vessel. It doesn't raise suspicions immediately."

"Scotty, I never do anything stupid. It is Jim who does the stupid things. And since he's not with us, we'll be fine," McCoy smiled. He wasn't too sure though. In a way it _was_ stupid what they were about to do. But they simply couldn't do _nothing. _He began to understand Jim a little bit better now. Jim and his habit of taking adventurous risks. The thing was only, that Jim seldomly had to pay for his stupid decisions. Somehow, he always won.

"Right. Good luck then," Scotty pressed the button for the turbo lift that would bring McCoy to the little ship, in which Sulu was already getting familiar with the controls.

When he arrived, McCoy looked around. The ship was hardly any bigger than a shuttle. But it was a lot faster.

"Sulu, you think you can fly this thing?" McCoy greeted the Lieutenant.

"Doctor McCoy. Do you know what I did while I was on shore leave on earth?" Sulu smiled at the doctor who had settled in the seat beside him.

"What did you do?"

"I visited my mother, and then I refreshed my helicopter pilot licence."

"Heli- what?"

"See?"

McCoy didn't understand. Sulu pressed a button and the ship's engines were powered up, at least that's what McCoy hoped was happening. The ship started to vibrate and made a lot of noise.

"I haven't come across _any_ flying machine that I could not bring into the air and land safely. Not a single one, in the whole galaxy. I'm a pilot, it's in my blood," Sulu shouted over the noise, which had quieted just a little.

"Blood, yes," McCoy said, and noticed for the first time that there were seatbelts on the two seats in the front of this little ship. _Good invention_, actually. However, they did not do much to calm his nerves. "Well, let's go then," he said, and in his mind he added, _before I'll change my mind_.


	10. Chapter 10

Lost in thought, McCoy sat in the co-pilot's chair of the Trill ship, and tried to figure out how he'd gotten to be here. At one time, he'd been a doctor at a hospital in Atlanta, married, with one child.

Now, he was chasing Orions and Romulans, who had abducted his two best friends (a cunning, courageous and confident starship captain, and his smart-ass, half-Vulcan sidekick) across the infinite vastness of space. It sounded as if he'd become a character of some kind of superhero comic.

Beside him, Lieutenant Sulu was piloting their Batmobile. _Surreal_, was the word that he couldn't get out of his head. He wouldn't have been too surprised if he'd suddenly found out that he was wearing tights, a mask and a cape.

Their ship still made a lot of noise, and everything was vibrating. McCoy had fastened his seatbelt just after they had entered warp speed, but he had not really thought about their safety much, at least not until Sulu had also fastened _his_ seatbelt, right after they had overcome some _minor turbulences._ Of course, Mr. Sulu was being his usual cheery self, and had only commented that they probably shouldn't go any faster than warp 5.8, "although I think she could go as fast as warp 7.9!"

"That's also what that Trill said," McCoy mumbled, "but you don't have to test it. The Orion ship is well within our sensor range. There's no need to break any speed records."

Sulu also took a look at the sensor readings. "I agree. They're going at warp ..." Sulu stopped, watching the readings in astonishment. The ship had just disappeared.

"What happened?" McCoy asked, feeling fear forming in his gut. Not fear for himself, but for Jim and Spock.

Sulu tapped the little monitor, _maybe it was just a malfunction_? This ship was not the Enterprise, but a ship Dr. McCoy had wheedled out of a dubious looking Trill merchant. It was possible that the sensors had just gone. But they were showing everything else, the system that the Orion ship had just been passing: the star, its 5 planets and their moons. But it didn't show the Orion ship anymore.

"Maybe they landed somewhere," Sulu said, and pressed some buttons to access the sensor log and replay the moment that the ship had disappeared.

"There was an explosion, wasn't there?" McCoy asked, worriedly. He had learned to read these sensors at the academy, but hadn't particularly paid attention to sensor readings after having passed the necessary test. And that had been more than a decade ago.

"Uh, yes," Sulu said, avoiding to look at the doctor. _Come on, you're the pilot here_, _give him a more qualified answer_, Sulu thought. He once more replayed the scene, then brightened a little. "There was an explosion, but it wasn't big enough to assume the whole ship has gone. They could probably bring her down on one of the planets or moons."

"You make it sound like it's good news," McCoy said accusingly, "what caused the explosion?"

"I don't know," Sulu admitted, then smiled at the doctor to cheer him up, "The good news is, that the whole ship didn't explode. It should be fairly easy to find them when we're there."

"What, with their signal gone? And they could have been seriously injured in that explosion even if it didn't blow their ship to little pieces." _There are so many possibilities to die in space: lack of oxygen, decompression, cold, fire, ... Maybe there had been a fight, maybe Tamulok had shot them __with a phaser, maybe they had been sucked out into space through a hole in the ship. Maybe there had been a plasma leak and they'd been consumed by green flames, maybe ... _

"Doctor," Sulu interrupted McCoy's dark thoughts, "as I know the captain, they've found a way to overwhelm their abductors and land somewhere safely. Mr. Spock is probably working on their ship's engines right now. It wouldn't surprise me if they find _us_ before we find _them_."

o0o

"Why did we crash?" Velal asked Tamulok, quietly, but not quietly enough for Kirk to not overhear.

"Well, I wasn't at the helm when we crashed, as you may recall," Tamulok said smugly, "the Orion slave girls were. _Women pilots!_ Should have known that that wouldn't end well," he added mockingly.

They had found shelter in the shade of a rock formation about a kilometer away from their crashed ship. The sun had risen an hour ago and it was already unbearbly hot and humid. The air was soaked with water, one had the impression to be able to cut it, if one only had a knife. Moving was like swimming in a mass of jelly.

The ground here was muddy, but at least there weren't any of those thorny scrubs on the ground. Kirk's knee throbbed a bit from where the thorn had pricked him. He rubbed it unconsciously, thinking about their situation, and trying to figure out Tamulok. He'd killed and injured many innocent people on Starbase 3, and he'd sacrificed his own crew for his plans of a Romulan coup d'etat. It was possible that he not only had the means to take control over the Romulan senate, but also declare war on the Federation after that. The Romulans had avoided to do just that, because they were cautious, to the end of paranoid. Tamulok, however, was ruthless, and nobody knew what kind of weapons and technology he really had. He was obsessed with that legendary Romulan colony, maybe he'd really found something there. His own subordinate, that obscure Romulan spy, Velal, wanted him dead, but wasn't able, or willing, to kill him herself. But Kirk really hated Tamulok because he'd _liked_ him once, even if he'd never really trusted him. And Kirk didn't like to be taken for a fool.

"Don't worry, Captain," Tamulok said in an arrogantly soothing way, "your people will come looking for you." His expression changed into a grimace of false pity. "Oh, no! The Enterprise is damaged! But have no fear, the brave crew will do everything to save their captain! They'll charter a small freighter, a coffin ship, a death-trap, a rust-bucket - only to get you back. Fearless and vailiant officers! Maybe Groundskeeper Willie, and your dear friend, Ole Sawbones himself. They'll pick up our signal, and because the atmosphere of this moon doesn't allow them to beam, they'll have to bring her down. When that happens, I'll be waiting. I'll take their ship, and lift off, waving down at you, saying _Haw-Haw_!"

Kirk almost smiled at Tamulok's eloquent use of quotations and references to earth's classics. _I'll find out about your secret, don't worry!_ Almost, for he didn't like Tamulok's tone, at all.

"On Romulus the Praetor and the Proconsul will be grateful, for I eliminated the rebels. My influence will rise again, and then, I'll find a day to massacre them all, and raze their faction and their family." He stopped, smiling at Velal, then turning back to face Kirk again, "that's my favourite Shakespeare quote, by the way."

"You don't know my crew, Tamulok," Kirk said, "they're loyal, but no fools." Tamulok was playing with them, and he didn't like that.

Besides, _no one_ was going to go after them in a shuttle. Starfleet Command would order Scotty to wait for back-up. Scotty would obey these orders. Of course, he wouldn't like it. Bones would have fit, but wouldn't be able to do anything. _I'm a doctor, not a damn superhero, _Kirk could hear him say.

"May I remind you, that we've agreed on burying our differences for the time being?" Velal asked wearily, "If we want to survive, we need water. I suggest we concentrate on finding some."

"Our chances of finding water will increase when we split up," Spock agreed, in part because it was the truth, in part because he wanted to confer with his captain alone.


	11. Chapter 11

"We're detecting an automated signal coming from one of the moons in this system," Sulu reported. They had gone under warp as soon as they had arrived in the star system where the Orion ship had disappeared.

"I see that," McCoy replied impatiently, "What I don't see are lifeforms." He hoped he was reading the scanners incorrectly, but so far, he could only see that automated signal, that had to be an emergency position finding signal from the Orion ship. At least that meant, that _something _had landed on the moon intact. However, McCoy also knew that these beacons were constructed to survive even the most massive explosions, fires, extreme pressure, variations in temperature, and what not. The old smartass question came to him again: _If these black boxes and beacons can survive the most hazardous shuttle crashes, why don't they make the whole shuttle out of this material? _

"The moon's atmosphere blocks our scanners. We're not getting many readings at all," Sulu said.

"Right. Can we land anywhere near that signal?"

"It will be kind of tricky, for we cannot rely much on our scanners. _And_ since we first have to penetrate the thick layer of clouds, and won't be able to see much until we're through, it is a little bit like flying blindly into the great unkown," Sulu said, looking at McCoy's expression. He then added quickly: "I think I can do it, sir."

"A "sir, yes, sir" would have done, _Hikaru_," McCoy said, a bit irritated by the fact that Sulu had called him "sir". Of course, he was the highest ranking officer here, and that made him the one in command. But, since they were both on leave (they weren't even wearing their uniforms) thiswasnot an official mission by any means. He wasn't even entirely sure if their little jaunt was completely legal.

"On the other hand, I appreciate and have noted your insight. Now bring us down, _Lieutenant,_" he added, after having pictured themselves being court-martialed for whatever it was called they were doing. In-subordination, maybe. Or misappropriation of Starfleet equipment, since they were both carrying a phaser and a communicator. Plus, he had brought some medical supplies from sickbay and some food rations from the mess, among other things that weren't part of his _personal_ belongings, technically speaking.

_Leave the technical and legal talk to Spock, _McCoy thought. _That pointy-eared nitpicker won't get tired in pointing out which Starfleet laws, or which laws of plain and simple logic I have broken when I decided to go after them - if he'll _able_ to talk, that is. _McCoy felt worried again. Worried for Spock, worried for Jim, worried for Sulu who might be risking his career by what they were doing. And he was worried about T'Plok, no _Velal_, Tamulok, and whoever else had been on that little ship. Crashes like these could be really gory events. He'd seen victims with third-degree burns, severed limbs, compound fractures, split skulls so that you l you could see the grey matter coming ...

"Alright. Hold on to something, doctor," Sulu said, smiling to himself. He'd noticed McCoy's use of his first name and then his switching to the formal "Lieutenant" again. He'd never call the doctor "Leonard", but he didn't mind if he called him Hikaru. He also realizd why McCoy had called him by his rank after that. If they'd ever get into trouble with Starfleet Command because of this little adventure, he knew McCoy would take all the blame and claim all responsibility.

He piloted their ship into the moon's atmosphere, steering towards the signal coming from the surface.

o0o

"So far, he hasn't done anything that could be considered threatening to us," Spock reasoned with his captain.

"That's right, he just abducted us, threatened to abandon us here on the planet and massacre us all," Kirk said and tested how deep the muddy pools on the ground were. Not even six inches. They were filled with a brown, stinky, muddy brew. Nothing you would want to drink.

"He was only referring to the Romulan government in that context," Spock answered.

"Spock. He killed innocent people on Starbase 3, abducted us, wanted to sell us to the Orions, betray us, even though we had an agreement."

"Yes, Captain. He deceived you. And now, I believe your wounded pride gets in the way of your judgement."

Kirk chewed his lip. "You're starting to sound like Bones," he said, smiling slightly.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I believe this to be one of the rare occasions when we'd both agree on something. Captain, you usually value Dr. McCoy's advice."

"I do. And I value _yours_. However, Spock, just _sometimes_ I have to listen to _myself_. And I just _know_, that we have to do everything to eliminate Tamulok while we still have a chance. He is very dangerous. Maybe not necessarily to us at this very moment, but I believe he is insane and about to gain a lot of power. That's never a good combination."

"Captain, you are sentencing a person to death because of crimes he did not yet commit."

"Spock. He killed many innocent people in that bar, did he not?"

"I believe he was responsible for their deaths, yes. But that does not give you the right to murder him."

Kirk started at the harshness of the word. He hadn't expected Spock to call him a murderer. Bones, yes. He could be absolutely fearless when it came to criticising his captain's moral judgement, every now and again. But Spock was usually more diplomatic. Maybe he was trying to make up for Bones' absence.

They suddenly heard a hissing sound, followed by something dark flashing across the sky. A ship. They had been found.

Kirk should have been relieved, however, a feeling of apprehension came over him.

o0o

McCoy felt as if all air had been sucked out of his lungs when he stepped out onto the moon's surface. It was hot, although you couldn't see the sun which was behind the thick layer of clouds.

"Just like Georgia," Sulu said to McCoy, slightly teasing. The planet seemed like a barren and muddy desert, but the climate did remind him of a brief stay in Georgia during his teens.

"Before a hurricane," McCoy added and walked a few metres to test the ground. It was muddy. There were pools of dirty water scattered all over. The only vegetation he could see were low scrubs with short, greyish leaves and thorns.

"I can detect the beacon clearly now," Sulu pointed into one direction, "it's about a kilometre away. Actually, if it weren't so hazy, we would be able to see it."

"What about lifesigns?" McCoy asked, dreading the answer.

Sulu brightened, then furrowed his brow. "Strange. I thought I had them. Now I'm not so sure. Something or some_one_ is about a kilometre in that direction. Then, something is a little closer in the opposite direction, and something else is near the ship."

"Okay, lets go after them, then."

"Is that wise? We don't know who they are, the captain and Mr. Spock, or the Romulans and Orions, or something completely different."

"Mr. Sulu, there was an explosion on their ship which made them crash on this moon. It's very likely that they, whoever _they_ are, need medical attention. And fast. They don't know we're here, so _we_ have to find _them_. Besides, we've both got phasers." McCoy reached for his phaser again. It was set on "stun". Then he checked his emergency medkit, all there, hopefully it was enough.

"They must have seen us landing, even in this light," Sulu speculated, looking at the sky. Not only did the clouds block the sunlight, but he also believed that the sun was about to set again. "Well, why don't you stay here, in case _they _find _us_? I'll search for them at the site of the crash." He tried to make it sound more like a suggestion than an order. After all, he wasn't in command.

"Aye, sir," McCoy joked. It was true, in order to find them fast, they needed to split up. And who knew? If Spock and Jim had seen them land, they'd probably be on their way to here right now.

Sulu nodded and moved away quickly, always an eye on the scanner readings.

McCoy trodded a few feet away from the ship and started to examine the ground. The water in the puddles was foul, not drinkable. Maybe if you boiled it, but then, who knew if Jim and Spock had anything they could use as a pot. And how could they make fire? What was there to burn? He gingerly touched one of the thorny plants with the tip of his boot to examine it further. The thorns caught on the robust material and ripped it when he pulled his foot away again. _Better not fall into one of these_, he thought.

"Doctor!"

He heard a woman yell, not far behind him. He drew his phaser instinctively, turning around. It was the former T'Plok, now Velal, and Tamulok who forcefully held her in front of him, one hand behind her back, capturing her hands, one hand around her throat.

"Velal. You okay?" he asked, for what else could he have said?

"Oh, doctor. I see you found out about her secret identity," Tamulok sneered.

"Sh-oot!" she croaked, having trouble speaking, because Tamulok was crushing her windpipe.

McCoy blinked. His thoughts were racing, while Tamulok forced Velal to take another step forward. If he shot at him now, he'd only hit Velal, there was no way he could aim accurately enough to spare her. But then, why should he? The phaser was set to stun. Maybe it would distract Tamulok enough to let her drop. And then he'd have a clear firing line to take him out also.

Tamulok was still coming closer, Velal was unable to breathe now, but McCoy heard the word she was screaming in her mind: "_Shoot!_" and so he did.

As expected, Velal was hit and stunned instantly, sagging like a dead body in Tamulok's arms, but to McCoy's horror, he did not let her drop, but kept her upright in front of himself, still moving towards McCoy.

_You'll only kill _her_ if you shoot again, but you won't be able to take _him_ out. He's a damn _Romulan_. He'll break your neck and then he'll take your phaser. _

He heard shouting from a far away distance: "Bones, shoot him!"

_Jim? _

His world suddenly was set into slow motion while he tried to figure out a way out of this dilemma. Tamulok was almost close enough to touch him, but still shielded behind Velal. Suddenly his eyes caught the plant he had been examing before and he thought he'd found a way out.

With force and skill he threw the weapon into a patch of scrubs and realized with satisfaction that it got buried in it deep enough to make it almost impossible to get out with bare hands.

The action confused Tamulok for a moment but he didn't take long to think of another plan. He shoved himself against McCoy, so that he fell backwards into the muddy puddle behind him. Tamulok then threw Velal forward, and she fell face down into the muddy water beside McCoy, who hurried to turn her unconscious form around to keep her from drowning.

Jim, who came running towards the little ship, alongside Spock, saw in utter disbelief and rage, as Tamulok overwhelmed his dumbfounded, initially _armed_ CMO, clambered into the ship and after another agonisingly long moment closed its hatch just a slplit second before he arrived.

Kirk drummed against the hull with his fists, but could not do anything to keep the ship on the ground. Its engines were powered up with a roar. Then a mist of stinking water and mud was stirred up as the ship left the ground.

"What the hell did you do?"


	12. Chapter 12

Kirk was furious. He could picture Tamulok stitting in the pilot's chair, pointing a finger down at them, laughing: "Haw, haw!" Just as he had predicted it.

How could this have happened? First of all, why was Bones here? Secondly, why did he not SHOOT? The doctor had had a phaser, but when Jim and Spock had started running, they saw Bones throwing away his phaser.

So the first thing he'd said to his friend was this reproachful question: "What the hell did you do?"

Strangely, Spock was the one who answered it.

"He may have saved all our lives, Captain. If Tamulok had gotten hold of the phaser, he could have killed us all, since we're unarmed."

Kirk let out a snort. "Bones wasn't unarmed."

"I didn't have a clear shot, Jim. I stunned Velal, but he still was shielded behind her."

"You should have vaporized them both," Kirk said, scornfully.

"Do you mean that?"

"What? You have to ask? You know her real name, so you know she's a Romulan spy. You came here on a rescue mission? Well, the only thing you accomplished was to become stranded here along with those you wanted to rescue."

"Captain, his decision to throw away the phaser was the safest choice. Had he fired again, he may or may not have incapacitated Tamulok. If not, Tamulok would have had the chance to take the phaser from him and shoot us all. His actions were ...," he hesitated, surprised, "based on a logical assessment of the situation."

It was McCoy's turn to snort. "Thank you."

"I was merely stating a fact," Spock said defensively.

"Of course, you were. Jim ... , Velal revealed her identity to Chekov, _knowingly_. I think she wanted us to know that Tamulok was dangerous and couldn't be trusted."

"All the more reason to not let him escape."

"Or to keep _her_ alive. The Enterprise is sure to pick us up in a day or two. We've got food, drink and medical supplies. And Sulu has got a phaser. So, what's the fuss?"

"Because now that Romulan terrorist can do whatever he wants to."

"We know where Tamulok is going," they heard Velal say quietly. She had come to while the trio had been talking.

"You think he's still going to Meriah?" Kirk asked her.

"Meriah Five?" McCoy asked, taken aback. He had some bad memories connected to that planet.

"I believe so," Velal said.

"You know," Kirk turned to her in anger, "I don't understand your role in this whole mess. On which side are you?"

"I'm with the Romulan Star Empire, Captain. I was a spy within the Federation, so quite obviously, I'm _not_ on your side. But Tamulok must be eliminated. He is dangerous. Not only for the Empire, but also for the Federation. For the peace in this whole quadrant, actually."

"Great. Thanks, Bones," Kirk spit at him sarcastically, and then turned away again. He was probably being unfair, taking all of his anger and frustration out on his friend, he knew that. However, he also knew that Bones could take it. And he probably was, at least partly, to blame for this mess anyway.

"Doctor, where is Lieutenant Sulu?" Spock asked, changing the subject and probably trying to defuse the situation a bit.

"He went to investigate the lifesigns coming from near the site of your crash," McCoy said, groping for his communicator, then handing it to Spock. He then turned to the bag with the medical supplies. He'd noticed Jim slightly favouring his right leg.

Spock contacted Sulu, who answered cheerily, reporting the lifesigns he had followed to the wreck had disappeared.

"Must be some kind of animal life," Kirk said distractedly, sitting down on a rock, stretching out his leg. McCoy approached him, his medical tricorder in hand.

"Here Jim, let me see your leg. If you like, you can chew me out some more while I'm doctoring you."

His words didn't quite have the effect he'd wanted to evoke, Jim did not smile. But at least he didn't protest when he started to roll up his trouser leg.

"Are you able to access the Orion ship?" Spock asked into the communicator.

"Yes, sir. The metal is still warm from the fire, but there is no danger."

"What about the engine? Is it possible to repair it?"

"I don't think so, sir, it's completely burnt out. But maybe we could use parts and plasma of the Trill ship the doctor and I came in, to get it going again."

McCoy ignored the accusing look Jim gave him. "Quite some swelling," he commented after having examined the hot, red and swollen knee, "you should put some of this ointment on it, to cool it and get the swelling down." He rummaged around in his bag and handed him a container.

Kirk had opened the container and started to apply some of the cooling gel on his knee. It did bother him more than he had admitted to himself.

"Captain," Spock said, turning to Kirk, after having talked to Sulu, "I would like to meet Lieutenant Sulu at the site of the Orion ship. It is unlikely that we get it to functioning again, nonetheless, we should investigate that possibilty."

"Okay, Spock. Make sure that emergency beacon is still functioning."

Spock bowed his head, leaving the two humans and the Romulan behind.

o0o

McCoy was poking at the phaser in the thorns with a water container he'd stolen from the Enterprise and brought on their "mission". Jim hadn't asked him any questions concerning his being here, but given the fact that he was wearing civilian clothes, he guessed that Jim had already gotten the picture.

Right now, Jim was sulking, sitting on a rock about 30 metres away, tending to his knee. Velal was also sitting on the ground, cross-legged, her eyes closed. She was probably meditating, or whatever it was that Romulans did. She hadn't said much after having regained consciousness. And McCoy wasn't eager to talk to her, although he was curious about how she'd managed to infiltrate the Federation and live on a Vulcan ship without being detected. Or without growing crazy.

He'd manged to create a little hole in the ravel of thorns, and tried to get his hand through without hurting himself.

"Dammit!" he hissed, when he scratched his hand.

Velal opened her eyes at the curse.

"Doctor," she said, startling McCoy, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, yeah? For what exactly?"

She didn't answer, probably because she didn't know what to say. McCoy sat down, facing her. Then took a swig from the bottle, and offered it to Velal.

She shook her head.

"Oh, yes. I forgot. Vulcans require water only every million years or so. I guess the same goes for Romulans," he said irritatedly, but still offering her the bottle.

She blinked, then finally took it and took a sip.

"I envy you, doctor," she said, handing back the bottle.

Of all the things she could have said, this was the least expected, but McCoy didn't want to let his surprise show. "Right."

"I would have shot myself and Tamulok without hesitation, on sight."

"Well, luckily, I've got such lame reflexes."

"No," she said after a short pause. "your reflexes are fine. Of course, they're inferior to Vulcan or Romulan reflexes," she said. Was she teasing him?

"But, you have got something that I have wanted to investigate ever since I started to live among humans."

"I thought you lived among Vulcans?"

"You forget that there were also humans on the P'Jem. Their life wasn't easy and they mostly stayed among themselves. However, I sought their company. At first, it was just a part of my mission. But then, it became a general interest in your race."

"Fascinating," McCoy said flatly, wondering to where this conversation was going.

Velal smiled slightly, something that McCoy couldn't get used to. It just didn't go well with her pointy ears.

"The word is humanity," she said.

McCoy blinked, but didn't say anything.

"I find it an admirable concept. It is desirable for all kinds of societies. Human, Vulcan, and Romulan."

McCoy still didn't know if she was teasing him, but didn't care. "It is," he said simply.

"But although it is called _human_ity, it is not a fundamental trait of all humans," she continued.

"Maybe not. But I've found most people see it as an ideal, something they are striving after."

"You see Romulans have different ideals. We aspire towards conformity and discipline. Loyality is not only a virtue, it is the right to exist. Not following an order is a reason to be executed."

"In our society it is too," McCoy said.

"But only if these orders do not violate certain moral standards."

McCoy shrugged. "In an ideal world that may be true. However, human history is full of people justifying unspeakable crimes by saying: "I was just following orders"."

"Yes. That's why I said it isn't a fundamental trait of all humans. But, I believe, it is _yours_."

"Thank you."

"It wasn't meant as a compliment. As I said, I am envious. I wish my race was more like you."

"Why?"

"I truly believe my world would be a better place, then."

McCoy raised an eyebrow and took a breath to say something, when he suddenly heard a hoarse croak and a yell.


	13. Chapter 13

I've rewritten this in parts.

Reference to "Trials and Tribble-ations" (Deep Space Nine)

o0o

They both turned and saw a huge reptile on two legs, with a mouth full of sharp teeth starting towards Kirk who had stood up from his rock, making a lot of noise to drive it away. He threw the container of ointment at it, hitting it square on the nose, but all this only made it more furious. It hacked with its clawed arms at Jim who was able to duck and kick it in the belly. But another hit with its tail brought him to the ground.

"On my planet you died out a long time ago," Kirk yelled and kicked it in its face once again. It shortly backed away with its head, but stepped on Kirk's legs with its foot, holding him in place for the final bite into his throat.

_Who would have thought that I would be killed by a Velociraptor? _Kirk heard a voice in his head when suddenly a phaser beam cut through the air and the reptile collapsed on top of him. With some effort he rolled the thing off of him, taking a deep breath, as far as it was possible in this thick air, and got to his knees.

His hands were muddy and he could feel the brown slime on his clothes already starting to crust over. _Spock?_ _Sulu?_ He looked into the direction from where the shot had come. But instead of the Vulcan and his helmsman he found McCoy running towards him, with a phaser in his hand, Velal who was carrying the emergency medkit in pursuit.

"Jim, you alright?" Bones was shouting.

"Captain?" It was Spock's voice and he now saw him coming from another direction, Sulu was a few metres behind him, also wearing civilian clothes. It was as if they were in summer camp or something, Kirk thought, laughing a little.

"I'm alright. This is just like that Jurassic Park adventure camp I went to when I was a kid," he joked clapping McCoy on the shoulder, then turned to Spock and Sulu who were closing up to them.

"Jim, you may have some bruised ribs, let Velal check you out," McCoy said and Kirk became aware of the Romulan moving a medical tricorder over him.

"Don't worry, Captain. I really _am_ a doctor," she said in answer to Kirk's questioning look.

"Can we repair the ship's engine, Spock?" Kirk addressed the Vulcan, deciding to ignore the Romulan for now.

"No," the Vulcan said curtly and went past Kirk without further acknowledgement. "Doctor, let me see your hands!" he said in a low voice, grabbing McCoy's forearms and turning them, to get a look at at the doctor's hands.

His right was still calmped around the phaser, which Spock gently pried away and handed to Kirk wordlessly. It suddenly hit Kirk that the last time he'd looked, that phaser had been lying securely in one of those thorny bushes that could be found everywhere on the surface of this moon. Kirk had injured his knee when one of these thorns had lightly pricked his skin through his trousers.

"Bones, you didn't take the phaser out of that scrub with you bare hands, did you?" he asked, shrugging off Velal now, and craning his neck to take a look over Spock's shoulder at Bones' hands.

When he saw the raw flesh and blood on his friend's hands, he knew the answer, drew in a sharp breath, and felt himself grow dizzy.

"I did not have much time. I thought that thing was going to bite your head off any minute, Jim," McCoy said defensively, only reluctantly letting Spock inspect his torn hands.

"You better sit down, doctor," Spock said quietly. Both the doctor's hands were severly abraded, his left even worse than his right, scraped raw. At one place Spock caught a glimpse of white bone.

He pushed McCoy towards the stone that Kirk had been sitting on a few minutes before, sitting him down. He then turned to look for the medical supplies they fortunately had with them.

"My god, Bones," Kirk fell to his knees before him, carefully grabbed his left wrist, and looked at the hand that had been literally torn to pieces. It made McCoy laugh.

"What?" Jim's other hand fell on his right shoulder, to give him a little shake.

"It's alright, Jim. I'm not going mad," McCoy said, sobering, "It does hurt, you know, but I'm not gonna die. It's just ..., you kneeling in front of me, that look on your face, I thought you were going to propose."

Kirk searched the blue eyes of his friend. He didn't look as if he were in pain at all, _must be the adrenalin rush_. Kirk opened his mouth, but didn't trust his voice to say anything. Instead, he looked at the hand again which his friend held out awkwardly, as if it didn't really belong to him.

He suddenly noticed something. "Where's your ring?"

McCoy's face fell. "Uh, I left it with the Trill. He took it as a deposit for his ship." He looked away, then added quietly, "Guess it'll be difficult to get back, now."

Kirk swallowed. He knew the ring meant a great deal to him. He never took it off, actually. Spock had returned, exchanging a look with Kirk, before addressing McCoy again.

"Doctor, please give me your hands so I can regenerate your skin," he said, matter-of-factly. Then added: "It may quite cause some discomfort, I'm afraid."

Kirk knew from personal experience that that had been an understatement. Skin generation just hurt like a son of bitch.

"Spock! I thought Vulcans couldn't lie. It _will_ hurt. A lot. So get on with it, already," McCoy said, annoyed.

Kirk moved to the side, giving Spock room. He placed a hand on McCoy's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Bones needed something else to focus on, while Spock was treating him. "What was the story behind that ring, again?" he asked, although _that_ was one of the few personal things he knew about his CMO.

"I-it was a present f-from a bygone girlfriend," Bones said turning away. Spock had started to move the medical instrument over his skin, and it did hurt. He hadn't imagined that it would hurt that much. He even felt tears spring to his eyes.

"She was a Trill also, wasn't she?" Kirk said in a low voice now. He knew Bones didn't like talking about this, or anything of personal nature for that matter, and he was aware of Velal standing close by.

"Yeah. ... Emony Dax. Sh-she wasn't really a girlfriend. J-just an a ... affair," he bit his lip. He would have closed his eyes tightly, but he was afraid that some of the tears might fall, and he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the whole party, who were staring only at him at this very moment.

"Doctor, should we pause?" Spock asked, suddenly unsure if he was doing this correctly. He had briefly considered letting Velal do the regeneration of the skin on the doctor's hands, however, he'd decided against it. Although he wasn't a doctor, he knew enough about medicine and first aid to know how to work a dermal regenerator. Anyone could do it, really. But he'd thought that it wouldn't be appropriate to let anyone else do this.

"No. You're doing this like an expert, Spock," he said, smiling at him.

So Spock continued.

McCoy took a deep breath that made him feel lightheaded, and let him sag to the side.

"The ship's owner recognised it?" Jim asked, suddenly taking a lot more of Bones' weight than before. He would have keeled over, if Kirk hadn't steadied him. Kirk slightly slapped his face, "Stay with us, Bones," and to Spock he said: "Stop it for a moment, there."

Spock complied, and the pain eased a fraction. McCoy suddenly felt a sense of deja-vu. He was back on the Enterprise, lying on the bed in Spock's quarters. Jim was beside him shaking him, slapping his face, telling him to stay with them. He shuddered.

Then the pain in his hands started to bring him back to the present, anchoring him in the here and now. It was just pain, nothing serious, he would live. They all would. Jim's head was still there where it should be, and now that he'd saved Jim's life, Jim would probably regret his sulking and anger towards him, and start talking to him again. Actually he already had, he'd asked him about his ring. McCoy searched for Spock's face. He didn't have to search for long, he was right there, only inches away.

"It really _does_ hurt, Spock," he whispered, not trusting his voice. Spock put his hand on his upper arm giving a gentle squeeze. After another moment the doctor had regained some of his strength and nodded at Spock. "Please, get it over with."

When Spock resumed his ministrations, Bones had braced himself enough to relate his story again in a steady voice:

"She was a gymnast. Limber like a cat." He smiled meaningfully at Kirk. "We met before I entered medschool and had a very ... intense week. She was also the one who got me to try out zero gravity. It was magical. Anyway, when she left earth, she gave me her ring, saying that she'd love knowing that it graced my hand which she always claimed was a surgeon's hand. I know it sounds stupid, but she was a big part of the reason why I finally got enrolled into medschool, and later joined Starfleet."

"Did you ever meet her again?" Sulu asked, blushing slightly, because he had been eavesdropping. But it really _did_ interest him. There was not much known about the personal life of their chief medical officer.

McCoy didn't seem to mind, or he was just too exhausted to let it show.

"No, un-fortunately not."

Spock had taken his other hand and swiftly moved the instrument over it also.

"Maybe the Trill recognised the ring somehow. He may know Emony Dax," Sulu said excitedly.

"Oh come on, Hikaru. The universe is big. It was a typical Trill ring though. He did recognise its style. I don't know, I think he was just curious, but then, it may have been valuable for him. We're not going to be able to give him back his ship, so he's going to keep the ring. ... And the 500 credits."

Spock had finished. McCoy looked at his hands. They weren't bleeding anymore, the skin had been repaired. But they were still swollen, and burning and itching.

"Well done, Spock," he said, not wanting to thank him, for he didn't want to be told that a 'thank you' was illogical.

"Yes," Spock said.

Kirk smirked, knowing the meaning which really lay behind McCoy's and Spock's words. He was reassured though, when Spock did not let his affection for McCoy show too openly. It meant that everything was alright.

"You should apply some of that cooling gel, it will ease the swelling," Spock said casually holding out the container to McCoy.

The doctor looked up at Spock in annoyance, still holding out his hands in front of him. He wouldn't be able to do much with them for another day or so.

Kirk took the container. "We know, Spock," he said quickly. Then: "We should go back to the Orion ship. Even if we can't get it to fly again, at least it could provide us some shelter, in case this raptor had a friend."

"Agreed," Spock said, waiting.

"Well, you go on!" Kirk motioned for Spock to go ahead. "Give me that phaser. We'll follow you in a few moments."

Spock raised an eyebrow at them, then nodded. Sulu and Velal grabbed their belongings in response and started walking. A few metres behind, Spock followed.

o0o

When they were out of earshot, Kirk opened the container with the gel and started to apply it onto McCoy's hands. He knew he was hurting Bones again, although his fingers were moving as lightly as possible over the tender skin.

"Well, I'm listening," Bones said, after having observed Kirk's fingertips for a long moment. They were spreading the cooling ointment onto his burning hands, as if they were a butterfly's wings that could rip at any minute.

"Am I hurting you?" Jim asked, looking up, stopping. His fingers were hovering just a millimetre above his skin.

"No, it helps ease the burn, actually," he said, "I didn't know your hands were capable of such a tender touch," he added jokingly.

Kirk smiled slightly, but said nothing, resuming his actions.

Jim's silence was getting to McCoy. He'd assumed that Jim wanted to apologise to him, when he'd told Spock to go ahead without them. But maybe he wasn't going to. What if Jim was never going to trust him again? What if he'd somehow managed to disappoint Jim so much that he'd destroyed something? Well, wasn't that exaggerated? He may have not killed Tamulok, but Jim Kirk was able to forgive an honest mistake, wasn't he? Suddenly McCoy felt how tired and exhausted he really was. He couldn't think straight.

His hands started to shake. Partly, because the past week was catching up with him, partly, because he honestly feared he'd done something that had destroyed something in the most important relationship that he had at this point._ Most important relationship? With your commanding officer. Look at you, you're pathetic. Other people have got family._

Kirk grabbed his wrists, closing his strong hands around them, stilling the shaking.

"I'm not going to say it, Bones. I still think you shouldn't have come after us. And you definitely should have shot that madman. And if you had killed Velal in the process, I wouldn't have regretted it."

McCoy held his breath when he looked into Kirk's eyes. He feared seeing anger in them, anger directed at him. He was so tired that he thought he just couldn't deal with Jim's wrath right now. _But it would just fit you. Whenever you let people become close to you, you eventually do something that drives them away. Without even realizing it._

When Kirk suddenly saw the uneasiness in his friend's blue eyes, something twisted inside him. All of a sudden Bones seemed so utterly vulnerable. Hell, Bones was really looking at him as if he expected Jim to break off their friendship here an now. The opposite was the case. Jim had wanted to reassure Bones, that their friendship was sill intact, it always would be, although he'd made a mistake. Bones was Bones, had he shot Velal and Tamulok on sight, he would have acted out of character. He knew that he'd taken a liking to T'Plok. Given the fact he'd believed she was a Vulcan that meant something, for his relationship with the whole Vulcan species was, to say the least, a difficult one. And even though, they'd found out she was Romulan, he himself couldn't deny that she was strangely likeable. Not shooting Tamulok was no breach of their friendship, it wasn't even a very serious mistake, just hesitation. He had to do something to let Bones know, that they were okay, so in an almost desperate attempt to reassure his friend, he brought Bones' hand to his mouth, and ever so slightly brushed his lips over his fingers, placing a kiss where the Trill ring had been.

"I promise you, I'll get you back your ring," he said, meaning it, he was a man to keep his promises.

McCoy let out a relieved breath, not quite understanding why he'd doubted their friendship.

Kirk grabbed the container of ointment, closed it, pocketed it, and hooked his arm under Bones' crook of the arm to pull him up.

"Come on, let's join the others."

ooooo0 End of Envy

Will be continued, but that may take some time, I _do _have a real life :-)


End file.
